Court Strikes Down Fine against CBS for Janet Jackson Super Bowl Exposure     7/21/2008

Washington, D.C. — Today, a Philadelphia court stripped the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) ability to regulate inappropriate nudity on television. The U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the FCC in the case of the Janet Jackson “striptease” during the 2004 Super Bowl game. The court claims that this action was not “pervasive as to amount to ‘shock treatment’ for the audience”.

“It is utterly incomprehensible that a court would decide that exposing Janet Jackson live on network television to 90 million viewers worldwide was not offensive. The court claims this notorious act was not ‘pervasive as to amount to “shock treatment” for the audience’ but the wardrobe malfunction was clearly intended to shock the worldwide audience. It incited unprecedented outrage and immediate phone calls and emails from viewers to the FCC” said Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America (CWA).

As a result of this incident, Congress overwhelmingly passed the Broadcast Decency Act to increase broadcast indecency fines in 2006.

Shari Rendall, Director of Legislation and Public Policy said “Parents will no longer be able to filter what their children watch on television. It is astounding that a liberal court has ceded control to broadcasters rather than parents to decide how much ‘skin’ is appropriate.

“Broadcasters filed this case in the liberal Philadelphia court which has a history of poor decisions on obscenity. The FCC’s ability to enforce broadcast decency standards has been severely compromised as a result of today’s decision.”

For Information Contact:
Valerie Mosher
(202) 488-7000
media.cwfa.org

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