Fox may be fined for airing false emergency alert tones during NFL promo

Fox emergency alert fine overview: 

• Who: The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $504,000 fine against Fox Corp.
• Why: The FCC says Fox aired false emergency alert tones on the air, in violation of the law. 
• Where: The Fox emergency alert fine case is before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is looking to slam Fox with a $504,000 fine after it allegedly aired false emergency alert tones as part of one of its NFL promos, potentially causing the public to become desensitized to the tone.

In a notice of apparent liability for forfeiture filed Jan. 24, the commission said Fox Corp.’s use of the emergency alert tone in promos that ran across the network’s 190 affiliated stations in 2021 constitutes “egregious misconduct” and warrants the more than half-a-million dollar fine.

The fine relates to a November 2021 comedic advertisement that ran for an upcoming game during the “Fox NFL Sunday” pregame show. 

The clip included a three-second emergency alert system (EAS) tone—normally used for public emergencies like wildfires, child abductions and dangerous weather conditions—created through using simultaneous 853 Hz and 960 Hz tones, the FCC said.

“The promotional segment’s ‘comedic tone’ also did not alter or neutralize its overall effect of falsely warning listeners and viewers of a non-existent emergency, as the EAS tones were clearly audible, cognizable, and appropriated for a non-emergency use,” the FCC said. 

“This manner of appropriation of the EAS tones is exactly the type of simulation that the commission’s rules seek to address and prohibit in order to avoid diluting the EAS tones’ real meaning over time.”

Fox should have known the promo violated federal standards, FCC says

The clip, which was created by pulling the tone from a YouTube video, was reviewed by several members of Fox’s production team before it went live, the FCC said, adding that Fox had “willfully violated” its rules.

“The commission has warned that the use of simulated or actual EAS Tones for non-authorized purposes — such as commercial or entertainment purposes — can lead to ‘alert fatigue,’ whereby the public becomes desensitized to the alerts, questioning or simply disregarding whether a particular alert is intended to warn about a real, imminent threat or some other cause,” the FCC said.

It has given Fox 30 days to respond with a written statement if it is to seek a reduction or cancellation of the fine.

Fox Corp. is not the only major media company facing complaints. 

Earlier this month, the wife of a man who died while working on the set of the television series “American Horror Story” sued Twentieth Century Fox and Disney alleging the companies did not enforce safety protocols that would have prevented her husband from contracting COVID-19 on the job.

What do you think of Fox’s use of the emergency tone in its advertising? Let us know in the comments! 

The Fox Corp. emergency tone fine is In the Matter of Fox Corporation et al., File No. EB-IHD-21-00033079, before the Federal Communica”ons Commission. 

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