During live national coverage of a Super Bowl half-time show, Justin Timberlake tore off part of Janet Jackson’s shirt, exposing her breast for nine-sixteenths of a second. Television network CBS called it a “wardrobe malfunction,” but the “malfunction” coincidentally occurred just as Timberlake was singing the lyrics, “Gonna have you naked by the end of this song.” The FCC fined CBS $550,000 but the network challenged the fine in court. The appeals court held CBS did not have to pay because the FCC did not have a clear policy on momentary displays of nudity. Do you agree with this conclusion? Do you think the incident was intentional or truly accidental? If it was intentional, should CBS have known better, regardless of FCC policies? If it was accidental, should CBS still be held accountable? Should it matter if it was intentional or accidental?
