FCC Fines ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ Six Figures for Misusing Emergency Alert System

Last night host Jimmy Kimmel has spent years taking shots at President Trump, but it seems he’s found a new enemy: the Federal Communications Commission. On Thursday, the FCC announced that it has fined ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! $395,000 for using the Emergency Alert System tone in an episode last year. The government agency said that by using the tone three times in during the October 3, 2018 episode, Kimmel and ABC created a “serious public safety concern” that could reduce the tone’s effectiveness in the event of an “actual emergency.”

In their Thursday statement, the FCC named various shows and networks that “misused Emergency Alert System (EAS) or Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) tones.” Chief among them was Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which the agency said “used a simulated WEA tone three times during a comedic sketch.” ABC has since “admitted to the violation, agreed to pay a $395,000 civic penalty, and committed to a compliance plan” to prevent a similar situation from arising in the future.

“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 agency’s statement continued. “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, alert fatigue among listeners, and false activation of the EAS by the operative data elements contained in the alert tones.”

“ABC has entered into a Consent Decree with the FCC that results in the termination of an inquiry into the October 3, 2018 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” the network told Decider via statement. “ABC takes regulatory compliance seriously and we are pleased to have resolved this issue.”

Jimmy Kimmel Live! wasn’t the only show or network hit with a fine. AMC drama The Walking Dead was fined $104,000 for using the EAS tone twice in a February 2019 episode titled “Omega.” Animal Planet’s Lone Star Law was also hit with a $68,000 civic penalty for broadcasting “the tone of a real wireless alert received by phones during filming.” According to CNN Business, the companies and shows implicated in the investigation have 30 days to pay their fines to the United States Treasury.

UPDATED 8/16/19 at 4:54 PM ET: A previous version of this article said that the sketch in question was a fake movie trailer mocking a presidential alert released that day. That is incorrect; the content related to the FCC settlement was from an earlier segment in the October 3, 2018 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Decider has updated this article to include the correct information alongside a statement from ABC.

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