FCC Rejects CBS Again on Super Bowl Indecency Fine

The FCC has again rejected CBS’ claim that the Janet Jackson breast exposure incident in 2004 was not indecent.
The agency denied CBS’ request for reconsideration of a total fine of $550,000 imposed on several of its O&O television stations that carried the Super Bowl broadcast that year.
CBS has maintained that the brief breast exposure was not actionably indecent and that it should not be fined. The network has said the current indecency guidelines are vague.
In its latest decision, the FCC again rejected that claim, stating that CBS failed to make any new arguments that would change its mind. It won’t reduce or cancel the fine.
While the commission agreed with CBS that the image of Jackson’s breast was “fleeting,” it said that isn’t enough to invalidate the case.
While Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein agreed with his colleagues, he felt the agency should have gone further, fining all CBS television affiliates that carried the program, not just the CBS O&Os.