FCC

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CALM Act Regulates Volume of TV Commercials
12/28/2012

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established new rules for the volume of television commercials that started on December 13, 2012. The new regulation, known as the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, requires commercials to have the same average volume as the programs they accompany. The CALM Act requires TV stations, cable operators or other multichannel video program distributors to apply specific FCC practices to commercials they transmit.

If you hear a commercial louder than the TV show it accompanies, you can file a complaint with the FCC by providing detailed information about the commercial.

Learn more about the CALM Act.

Keep Single-Load Liquid Laundry Packets Away from Children
12/29/2012

example of single-load liquid laundry packets

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is advising parents and caregivers to lock up single-load liquid laundry packets and keep them away from children.

Liquid laundry packets are attractive to children because they are soft and colorful and resemble familiar items like candy and teething products.

These items also dissolve quickly when placed in the mouth or are handled with wet hands. Children who are exposed to the chemicals are at risk of serious injury because they can be toxic.

In 2012, CPSC staff have learned of about 500 incidents involving children and adults who were injured by the packets.

CPSC recommends these steps to prevent unintentional poisonings and eye injuries:

Do NOT let children handle laundry packets.
Keep the liquid laundry packets sealed in their original packaging, and make sure they are locked up and out of a child’s sight and reach.
If swallowed or exposed to the eye, immediately call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

Learn more about the dangers of single-load laundry packets. (PDF)

BREAKING: Minutes ago, the FCC passed new rules — written by corporations — that will end Net Neutrality. For the first time in history, the U.S. government approved corporate censorship of the Internet, putting the future of online free speech at risk. Unbelievably, the person leading the charge was Obama appointee Julius Genachowski.

This violates President Obama’s campaign promise to protect Net Neutrality, but some media are reporting the corporate spin that this is a “Net Neutrality compromise.” It’s not — there’s no such thing as half a First Amendment. We need to set the record straight.

If you’re on Twitter, please click to share this: NEWS: @FCC breaks Obama promise, allows corporate censorship – no Net Neutrality rules. 3 things to know: bit.ly/eVKyWH @WhiteHouse

If you’re on Facebook, click here to spread the word.

By sharing, you can help us spread the top 3 reasons the rules passed today are a giveaway to big corporations and break Obama’s promise:

They enshrine different rules for wired and wireless Internet — allowing big corporations to censor on your mobile phone
They allow corporations to set up tollbooths online, stifling new innovators like the next YouTube who can’t pay the fees the old, crusty corporations can pay
For the first time, they embrace a “public Internet” for regular people vs. a “private Internet” with all the new innovations for corporations who pay more — ending the Internet as we know it

A more detailed explanation is here. Please pass this email to your friends so they know not to believe the corporate spin.

And click here to share on Twitter and here to share on Facebook.

Thanks for being a bold progressive,

Jason Rosenbaum, Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, and the PCCC team