The Censors Lose in Court

[groovedaddy]

The $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on CBS for Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” during the 2004 Super Bowl was a serious setback to freedom of expression. A federal appeals court threw out the fine last week, ruling that the agency violated its own standards for what constitutes indecency. It is a well-reasoned decision, and we hope that the Supreme Court, which will soon be taking up a similar case, will take as strong a stand for free speech.

Ms. Jackson’s live performance ended with Justin Timberlake, in a deviation from the script, tearing part of her bustier and revealing her bare breast for nine-sixteenths of one second. The F.C.C. decided the broadcast was indecent because it depicted a sexual organ and violated “contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.” The agency set aside its decades-old policy of not imposing fines for isolated or fleeting material.

The F.C.C. claimed that that policy applied only to words, not images. But the Philadelphia-based United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected the claim. It ruled that the agency’s decision to fine CBS was arbitrary and capricious — and therefore illegal — because it failed to provide a reasoned explanation, and appropriate notice, for its change in policy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/opinion/28mon3.html?th&emc=th

[Hydra]

1. It's a BOOB

Get over it!

[groovedaddy]

2. I'm sure that La Leche League feels the same as you! n.t

[Hydra]

3. :D

I was watching "Taboo" last night on National Geographic and they showed a pagan ceremony with breasts that were not pixelated.

As much as breasts turn various people on, so do feet, ears, faces, legs, etc. Some people need to get a grip :evilgrin: