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July 21, 2008

Court rejects FCC fine for Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction"

The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals today threw out the FCC indecency fine totaling $550,000 ($27,500 levied by the FCC on each of 20 FCC-licensed CBS affiliates) over the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show featuring Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" in the company of Justin Timberlake. Story from the New York Times. Excerpt from a statement supporting the court's action issued by Jonathan Rintels of the Center for Creative Voices In Media:

[O]verly broad FCC decisions on what constitutes “indecency” that arbitrarily overturn decades of Commission precedent put creative, challenging, controversial, non-homogenized broadcast television programming at risk. In many cases, the very kinds of television programs that parents want their children to watch – high quality documentaries, histories, and dramas – have been impacted. Thus, the chilling effect of these now-overturned Commission decisions harmed not only media artists, but the American public. We documented this chilling effect in our report, Big Chill: How the FCC's Indecency Decisions Stifle Free Expression, Threaten Quality Television, and Harm America's Children...

Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at July 21, 2008 02:13 PM


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