Marty Stern Discusses Potential FCC Focus on CALM Act Enforcement with Communications Daily

The FCC soon could step up enforcement of the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, according to a new article in Communications Daily. Womble Bond Dickinson’s Marty Stern was one of the broadcast and cable industry insiders who spoke with Communications Daily about the prospect of additional CALM Act enforcement. 

The CALM Act requires the audio of television commercials to be no louder than the accompanying programming, and loud commercials continue to be a leading source of consumer complaints to the FCC. The FCC issued a Public Notice on April 19 asking for input, just days after the CALM Act’s original author, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) expressed concern about inadequate enforcement.

Stern said the Public Notice request is “likely not the end of the story but the beginning, and there will be more to come from the FCC.” Stern noted that when the FCC has questions about overall industry compliance with a requirement, it would not be surprising to see follow-on enforcement activity from the FCC, and it would be a good time for firms to review their CALM Act compliance.  

Click here to read “Calm Act Proceeding Could Lead to More Enforcement” in Communications Daily (subscription required).