A federal appeals court on July 21 ruled that the Federal Communications Commission should not have imposed fines on CBS for the infamous “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl in which singer Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed for a split second because the agency had unfairly imposed a new, stricter standard without first informing broadcasters.
“Like any agency, the FCC may change its policies without judicial second-guessing. But it cannot change a well-established course of action without supplying notice of and a reasoned explanation for its policy departure,” Chief U.S. Circuit Judge Anthony J. Scirica wrote in CBS Corp. v. FCC.
