On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to consider an appeal by the Federal Communications Commission of an appeals court ruling that overturned the agency's fine against CBS for its broadcasting a fleeting image of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show.
"It is now clear that the brevity of an indecent broadcast - be it word or image - cannot immunize it from F.C.C. censure," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in a two-page opinion that put to rest the CBS case, clearing the network of a $550,000 fine.
"As every schoolchild knows, a picture is worth a thousand words, and CBS broadcast this particular picture to millions of impressionable children," he said.
Regardless of past actions, the FCC's policy going forward is unambiguous, Chief Roberts said. "It is now clear that the brevity of an indecent broadcast - be it word or image - cannot immunize it from FCC censure," he said.
"Any future wardrobe malfunctions will not be protected on the ground relied upon by the court below," he said.
Recalling the performance by Ms. Jackson and Justin Timberlake, he noted, "The performers subsequently strained the credulity of the public by terming the episode a 'wardrobe malfunction.' "
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg observed that a ruling this month by the court in a separate F.C.C. case "affords the commission an opportunity to reconsider its indecency policy in light of technological advances and the commission's uncertain course."
According to the New York Times, in that case, F.C.C. v. Fox Television Stations, other indecency penalties were overturned because the court found that the agency had not given broadcasters clear enough notice of the bounds of decency.
CBS said it was "gratified to finally put this episode behind us." It has already taken preventive steps to put delays in live entertainment programs, and said it looked forward to "very balanced enforcement" by the agency in the future.
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