Washington Beat

Congress first took up the question of AI-generated voice and likeness protection in 2023. In the years since, the technology moved far faster than the legislation. Now, the NO FAKES Act is getting a new shot at protecting creatives from unauthorized AI-generated replicas of their voice and likeness.

Members of Congress sometimes direct agency decisions or tell agency leaders, “You belong to us. Remember that and you’ll be alright,” laments AEI nonresident senior fellow Mark Jamison. He adds that some agency leaders now openly question whether their independence exists at all. That raises three practical questions for Jamison.

With the publication of a Third Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking associated with proposed changes to the FCC's audible crawl rule in the Federal Register, the Media Bureau's Policy Division has been given the green light to establish a comment window, finalizing the dates one can offer their thoughts on the matter.

In March, state broadcast associations headed to Capitol Hill to tell their stories of community service and advocate for radio access. Earlier this month, farm broadcasters got their shot, as NAFB members arrived on Capitol Hill for Washington Watch.

The Regional Director for Region One of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau has handed a Notice of Violation to the licensee of a low-powered radio station and aural studio transmitter link serving a far-suburban Illinois community to the north of Chicago.  It's a warning, and directive to resolve the matter.

The Policy Division Chief within the FCC's Media Bureau has granted a request from Gray Media to dismiss its complaint filed against Dish as it battled with the direct broadcast satellite service provider over a now-resolved retransmission consent impasse.

The LPTV Broadcasters Association, founded by entrepreneur and LPTV champion "SuperFrank" Copsidas, very much wants 5G Broadcast to become a voluntary broadcast standard for U.S. LPTV stations. That's why he's written to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr seeking "immediate regulatory action."

By an unanimous resolution, all 50 state broadcasters associations, and those representing Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, have agreed to tell legislators on Capitol Hill to reexamine the "Sports Broadcasting Act." Given the current state of access in the streaming era, in particular with NBA playoff games, the call for a closer look is growing louder.

The NAB has a new podcast. AirTime launched today as a weekly series covering legislative and regulatory developments affecting local radio and television stations, with new episodes dropping every Wednesday morning to keep the industry current on DC policy.

The Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has confirmed that the Media Bureau has an Acting Bureau Chief, as its previous Bureau Chief will now serve as Deputy Chief of Staff in addition to acting as a Senior Counsel to Brendan Carr.

It was alluded to on Thursday by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr during a post-May Open Meeting press conference with journalists at Commission headquarters in Washington, D.C. Now, we have the full story as to why a radio station is getting a short-term license renewal

The Republican-led House Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee has declined to provide funding for local public broadcasting station infrastructure in its fiscal year 2027 appropriations bill. That led the head of America's Public Television Stations to express disappointment.

If there ever was a time when the NAB could use an inside track at the FCC, particularly in the Media Bureau, Curtis LeGeyt just hit a jackpot potentially bigger than any he could have gotten last week while in Las Vegas for his association's annual convention and expo.

The full Commission has stood by the dismissals of applications for low-power FM radio station construction permits filed in the FCC's 2023 LPFM filing window. That negates a plan to put a facility in Athens, Ala., and another in the Alabama city of Selma.

Four items appear on the FCC's May Open Meeting agenda, including an order to modernize the Disaster Information Reporting System, where outage information is reported during emergencies. Brendan Carr offers a preview of all that's up for discussion on May 20.