Eshoo Preparing Letter to Ask FCC about Sponsorship ID Rules' Application to RT

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., is circulating a draft among lawmakers seeking support for a letter to the FCC “inquiring whether its existing rules requiring the identification of sponsors in broadcast programming should be applied to state-sponsored channels like RT (formerly Russia Today).” Eshoo, a former ranking member of the Communications Subcommittee, said it’s “a foundational principle of our broadcasting regulations that the public is informed when the programming they are watching is designed to influence them,” part of the sponsorship ID rules of the 1934 Communications Act. She encourages those wanting to sign on to do so by Monday. “As staunch defenders of the First Amendment, we are not suggesting that any broadcast speech should be suppressed, but the airwaves are a public trust that have always carried with them special obligations to the public with respect to content broadcast over them,” a draft of the letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said, citing RT broadcasts in markets including Washington. “We inquire as to whether the FCC’s rules should be applied to channels like RT to ensure the American people know who is attempting to influence them.”