Misuse of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) Sound

Section 11.45(a) of the Commission’s rules provides that, “[n]o person may transmit or cause to transmit the EAS codes or Attention Signal, or a recording or simulation thereof, in any circumstance other than in an actual National, State or Local Area emergency or authorized test of the EAS, or as specified in [Sections] 10.520(d), 11.46, and 11.61 of this chapter.”

Section 11.46 allows EAS participants to use the EAS Attention Signal and a simulation of the EAS codes as provided by FEMA in PSAs provided by federal, state and local government entities, or non-governmental organizations, in certain specified types of public service announcements to raise public awareness about emergency alerting. Section 11.45(b) requires an EAS Participant to notify the FCC when it has transmitted a false EAS Tone, within 24 hours of discovering such a transmission. Section 10.520(d) prohibits any person from transmitting the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) common audio attention signal, or a recording or simulation thereof, in any circumstance other than in an actual National, State or Local Area emergency or authorized test, or in the context of a PSA provided by federal, state, local, tribal and territorial entities, or non-governmental organizations in coordination with those entities, to raise public awareness about emergency alerting.

Thus, if advertisements, promotional announcements, or other programming includes the EAS codes or EAS or WEA Attention Signals (or simulations thereof) not in connection with an actual emergency, authorized EAS or WEA test, or authorized PSA, they are prohibited. A “simulation” of the EAS codes or EAS or WEA Attention Signals includes not only recordings of actual EAS codes or EAS or WEA Attention Signals, but also sounds that mimic or are substantially similar to them, such that an average listener could reasonably mistake the sounds for an actual EAS code or EAS or WEA Attention Signals. In addition, such false use of the EAS codes or EAS or WEA Attention Signals may be considered a “false distress signal,” which is prohibited under Section 325(a) of the Act.