The Federal Communications Commission has fined ABC almost $400,000 over a Jimmy Kimmel skit that used the Emergency Alert System tone, Business Insider reports.
The FCC announced Thursday that it has fined ABC $395,000 for using the EAS tone three times during an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on October 3, 2018. The system allows the U.S. president to warn Americans via text, radio, and television of dangerous weather and to announce AMBER alerts for missing children. In the sketch, a family is shown being overwhelmed by alerts from President Donald Trump saying "fake news" and "end the witch hunt."
AMC and Discovery were previously fined $104,000 and $68,000, respectively, for using the alert in episodes of "The Walking Dead" and "Lone Star Law," as were radio stations Meruelo Radio Holdings and KDAY and KDEY-FM in the Los Angeles area.
"The use of actual or simulated EAS tones during non-emergencies and outside of proper testing or public service announcements is a serious public safety concern," the FCC wrote in the announcement.
"The FCC's rules prohibit such broadcasting of EAS tones — including simulations of them — except during actual emergencies, authorized tests or authorized public service announcements.
"These rules aim to protect the integrity of the alert system by helping to avoid confusion when the tones are used."
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