Voluntary Multilingual Alerts Aren't Sufficient, Says MMTC

An “entirely voluntary” system of “designated hitter” multilingual emergency alerts (see 2203100067) “is not sufficient” to ensure that communities receive multilingual alerts, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council told FCC Public Safety Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau staff in a virtual meeting Thursday, according to an ex parte filing posted Tuesday in docket 21-346. A hybrid approach that combines a voluntary system with a “regulatory backstop” that assigns a station to be responsible for multilingual alerts in markets without volunteers would be more effective, MMTC said. The FCC would need to require notice in markets with a volunteer, and the FCC could hold lotteries for the assignment in markets without one, MMTC said. The FCC could also issue advisory letters approving designated hitter plans, the filing said.