A federal appeals court threw out a $550,000 indecency fine against CBS on Monday (July 21), stemming from the now infamous 2004 Super Bowl halftime show that Janet Jackson deemed a wardrobe malfunction.
According to the Associated Press, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity.
During Janet's performance with Justin Timberlake, her breast was exposed -- with a star shaped pasty covering her nipple -- to 90 million viewers as Justin sang, "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song."
Although both Justin and Janet called the incident a "wardrobe malfunction," the FCC wasn't buying it, and hit the network and its affiliates with the huge fine.
The fine has now been overturned, in a ruling that claimed that the FCC had overreacted and ignored its 30-year practice of only fining for indecent programming that is "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience."
"Like any agency, the FCC may change its policies without judicial second-guessing," the court said. "But it cannot change a well-established course of action without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure."
The Parents Television Council is angered by the court's decision.
"While we are not surprised that the legal venue hand-picked by CBS would rule in favor of the network, the court's opinion goes beyond judicial activism; it borders on judicial stupidity," said Tim Winter, president of the PTC. "If a striptease during the Super Bowl in front of 90 million people — including millions of children — doesn't fit the parameters of broadcast indecency, then what does?"
Source: BallerStatus.com
According to the Associated Press, a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "acted arbitrarily and capriciously" in issuing the fine for the fleeting image of nudity.
During Janet's performance with Justin Timberlake, her breast was exposed -- with a star shaped pasty covering her nipple -- to 90 million viewers as Justin sang, "Gonna have you naked by the end of this song."
Although both Justin and Janet called the incident a "wardrobe malfunction," the FCC wasn't buying it, and hit the network and its affiliates with the huge fine.
The fine has now been overturned, in a ruling that claimed that the FCC had overreacted and ignored its 30-year practice of only fining for indecent programming that is "pervasive as to amount to 'shock treatment' for the audience."
"Like any agency, the FCC may change its policies without judicial second-guessing," the court said. "But it cannot change a well-established course of action without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure."
The Parents Television Council is angered by the court's decision.
"While we are not surprised that the legal venue hand-picked by CBS would rule in favor of the network, the court's opinion goes beyond judicial activism; it borders on judicial stupidity," said Tim Winter, president of the PTC. "If a striptease during the Super Bowl in front of 90 million people — including millions of children — doesn't fit the parameters of broadcast indecency, then what does?"
Source: BallerStatus.com
