FCC Requests Comments on Proposal to Require Multilingual EAS Alerts

[Commentary] There is one interesting and important proceeding that the Federal Communications Commission has recently resuscitated and is worthy of mention -- the proposal to mandate multilingual emergency alerts by broadcast stations -- even when the station broadcasting in a language other than English is knocked off the air by some local emergency.

The proposal would require that all primary EAS stations broadcast national alerts in both English and Spanish, and that state EAS plans should designate stations to provide emergency information in other languages where there are significant populations that have a primary language other than English or Spanish. Not only that, but English language stations in these areas are proposed to have to play a back-up role, ready to step in and provide emergency information in one of these languages should the primary station serving a particular non-English speaking population be forced off the air.

Comments on this proposal are due on April 28, and replies by May 12.

[Oxenford is partner at Wilkinson, Barker and Knauer]