PHILADELPHIA – A US appeals court yesterday threw out a federal agency’s decision to fine CBS Corp television stations $550,000 for airing singer Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl broadcast.
A divided 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said that in imposing the fine, the Federal Communications Commission “arbitrarily and capriciously” departed from prior policy that exempted “fleeting” indecency from sanctions.
In a statement, the FCC said it was disappointed by the decision, but planned to use “all the authority at its disposal” to ensure that broadcasters served the public interest when they used the public airwaves.
Bob Corn-Revere, a lawyer for CBS, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
Jackson’s right breast was briefly exposed to almost 90 million TV viewers after the singer Justin Timberlake accidentally ripped off part of her bustier during a halftime show performance.
CBS was fined $27,500 for each of the 20 stations that the New York-based company owned.
The 3rd Circuit in 2008 struck down the fine, but that decision was vacated when the US Supreme Court in 2009 upheld the FCC policy as rational. It did not decide whether the policy was constitutional, and returned the case to the 3rd Circuit. – (Reuters)