You are viewing the archive: “FCC Indecency Policy”

Court Backs CBS Again Over Janet Jackson Super Bowl Fine

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday November 2, 2011 @ 10:18am PDTTags: CBS Corp, FCC, FCC Indecency Policy, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake

The 3rd U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled for a second time that the FCC didn’t have the right to fine CBS Corp for airing Janet Jackson’s famed wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl halftime show in 2004. The commission fined the network $550,000 for “fleeting” indecency after it showed Jackson’s bared breast for less than a second as part of her outfit was torn away by co-performer Justin Timberlake during the performance, which was seen by 89.9 million viewers. CBS appealed the fine, and the appeals court voided it in 2008. The case went to the Supreme Court, which vacated the judgment and sent it back to the appeals court. Today’s ruling was made on the same grounds as the first one: that the FCC didn’t give broadcasters fair warning about a shift in indecency enforcement. ”While we are disappointed by the court of appeals decision, we note that the court overturned the FCC’s 2006 forfeiture order on narrow procedural grounds,” the FCC said in a statement. “In the meantime, the FCC will continue to use all of the authority at its disposal to ensure that the nation’s broadcasters fulfill the public interest responsibilities that accompany their use of the public airwaves.”

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‘NYPD Blue’ Indecency Fine Thrown Out

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday January 4, 2011 @ 10:09am PSTTags: FCC Indecency Policy, NYPD Blue, TV
Nellie Andreeva

Eight years after the infamous NYPD Blue episode featuring actress Charlotte Ross’ buttocks aired and two years after FCC slapped  the ABC stations with a $1.4 million fine over the racy scene, the penalty has been tossed by a federal … Read More »

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Parents Television Council: Profanity In Primetime On The Rise

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday November 9, 2010 @ 8:19am PSTTags: FCC Indecency Policy, Parents Television Council, TV
Nellie Andreeva

After coming under scrutiny in the past couple of months, The Parents Television Council today released its first study of the year, which claims a sharp rise in the frequency and harshness of profanity on primetime broadcast TV in the past 5 years. … Read More »

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FCC Appeals Fleeting Expletives Ruling

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday August 26, 2010 @ 9:58am PDTTags: FCC, FCC Indecency Policy, FCC Regulation
Nellie Andreeva

The legal fight over so-called fleeting expletives continues. The FCC today filed an appeal of the July ruling by a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that tossed the agency’s indecency policy, claiming that it “violates the First Amendment because it is unconstitutionally vague, … Read More »

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