FCC Should Approve 'Katrina Petition,' MMTC Says

The FCC should approve the “Katrina Petition” and require broadcasters to provide emergency information in multiple languages “before, during, or after an emergency,” the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council said in meetings Tuesday with Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief David Simpson, aides to Commissioners Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel, and an aide to Chairman Tom Wheeler, according to an ex parte filing posted online Tuesday in docket 04-296. The FCC should withdraw a draft order that would update state emergency alert systems with information about which EAS participants offer their information in multiple languages and instead “take meaningful steps to preserve the lives of multilingual Americans,” MMTC said. “If the Commission revisits this issue in light of these comments, it would adopt directives that more effectively protect individuals who are not conversant in English,” MMTC said. “Discussions are underway about MMTC potentially amending the Petition to address questions that the Commission has raised.”