American Public Media has received a particularly costly reminder of the FCC’s zero-tolerance stance on improper Emergency Alert System tone use after tones were inadvertently aired across nearly 550 public radio stations in the US in a BBC program.
The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau said the violation occurred in May of 2023 when tones resembling EAS alerts were transmitted during an episode of BBC Witness History titled “Chasing the World’s Biggest Tornado.” The program aired through the BBC World Service, which did not take into account how US broadcast rules prohibit airing EAS tones, even in non-emergency or foreign content, to prevent confusion and desensitization among listeners.
According to the consent decree, APM’s 46 Minnesota Public Radio and Southern Californian Public Radio stations, along with roughly 500 affiliates, carried the program.
American Public Media told the Commission the episode had been supplied by the BBC under a blanket distribution agreement and noted that it did not originate the content. However, the FCC reiterated that each station is ultimately responsible for all material broadcast over its airwaves.
To resolve the issue, APM agreed to make a “voluntary contribution” of $86,400 to the US Treasury, a painful lesson for the public broadcaster in the wake of federal funding cuts by the Trump Administration.
The FCC has previously and repeatedly warned that using real or simulated Emergency Alert System tones for non-emergency purposes, such as in entertainment or commercials, can cause “alert fatigue,” making the public less responsive to real alerts. Because EAS tones contain operative data, their misuse can also trigger false alerts or block legitimate ones, undermining the system’s integrity and posing a serious public safety risk.
