The FCC has announced that is is standing behind its decision against CBS for the now-infamous Janet Jackson "nipplegate" Super Bowl XXXVIII incident. The Commission announced today that it had resolved over 300,000 broadcast indecency complaints about almost 50 TV shows that aired between February of 2002 and March of 2005.

For the Janet/CBS fine, the FCC rejected the network's claim that "pulling off a portion of Janet Jackson's bustier to reveal her breast is not indecent" and says that CBS "consciously and willfully failed to take actions to prevent the broadcast of the material" and holds the network responsible.

Chairman Kevin Martin said in a statement, "We appropriately reject the argument that CBS continues to make that this material is not indecent. That argument runs counter to Commission precedent and common sense."

Commissioner Michael Copps added that "it may never be possible to provide 100 percent certain guidance because we must always take into account specific and often-differing contexts, the approach in today's orders can help to develop such guidance and to establish precedents.  This measured process, common in jurisprudence, may not satisfy those who clamor for immediate certainty in an uncertain world, but it may just be the best way to develop workable rules of the road."

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said of the CBS decision that "it abruptly departs from our precedents by adopting a new, weaker enforcement mechanism that arbitrarily fails to assess fines against broadcasters who have aired indecent material." He adds that while the decision "appropriately identifies violations of our indecency laws, not every instance determined to be indecent meets that standard."