Martin Looks to Supreme Court Profanity Review

FCC chairman cites thousands of complaints about Janet Jackson reveal during Super Bowl halftime show, as well as unanimous FCC vote to fine, Congress raising fines tenfold.

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/21/2008 4:09:00 PM

Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin said Monday that he was "surprised and disappointed" by the Third Circuit's smackdown of the FCC's $550,000 fine for the Janet Jackson Super Bowl reveal.

He pointed out that hundreds of thousands of people complained about the show, that the commission voted unanimously to fine and that Congress changed the law to boost its maximum fines by tenfold -- from $32,500 per incident to $352,000.

"I continue to believe that this incident was inappropriate, and this only highlights the importance of the Supreme Court’s consideration of our indecency rules this fall," he said in a statement.

The court ruled that the FCC's decision to fine CBS was arbitrary and capricious because it had not sufficiently notified broadcasters of its change in enforcement policy, and it also said CBS was not vicariously liable for the actions of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson because they were independent contractors.

The Supreme Court is currently considering the FCC's appeal of a similar smackdown of its fleeting profanity finding against Fox.

Martin’s entire statement is printed below:

Today, the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the Janet Jackson incident during the Super Bowl halftime show was not indecent and declared that the FCC was wrong to fine CBS for the broadcast.

I am surprised by today’s decision and disappointed for families and parents.

The Super Bowl is one of the most watched shows on television, aired during the hours when children are most likely to be in the audience.

Hundreds of thousands of people complained about the show, and a unanimous commission found that it was inappropriate for broadcast television.

In fact, following this incident, Congress said we should be assessing greater fines -- as much as 10 times the amount we actually fined CBS -- for incidents like these in the future.

I continue to believe that this incident was inappropriate, and this only highlights the importance of the Supreme Court’s consideration of our indecency rules this fall.