SNL’s Kamala Harris Cameo May Have Violated FCC Rules
The sudden appearance of Kamala Harris there may be Gilded episode this week belong to Saturday night livebut it could also have gotten it into hot water. According to a commissioner with Federal Communications Commissionsketch—in it Maya Rudolph’The satirical portrait of the Democratic nominee for president sitting arm-in-arm with real-life vice president Kamala Harris — is a violation of the agency’s long-established equal-time rules, which requires licensed broadcasters to give a platform to all major candidates. , is not just a candidate chosen by the broadcaster.
The cry of injustice comes from the former general counsel of the FCC Brendan Carrperson nominated by both Presidents Joe Biden and then the President Donald Trump to the five-member committee. Post to X (formerly Twitter), the self-described senior Republican on the committee wrote SNL expansion “is a clear and blatant attempt to evade the FCC’s Equal Time regulations.”
“The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan behavior — a broadcaster is licensed to use the public airwaves to influence a candidate before an election, ” Carr wrote of the sketch, continuing, “Unless the broadcaster has offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns.”
This is not the first time Saturday night live has put those involved in the FCC on notice with its appearance on the eve of the election. On November 1, 2008, then-Republican candidate for president John McCain appeared on SNL during the show’s continuous opening during “Weekend Update”. The time so close to the election was enough promote thinking that Democratic candidate Barack Obama should have requested an equivalent amount of screen time from NBC. (The then-senator did not, and—spoiler alert—he won that election anyway.)
The show has a rich history of presidential candidates appearing as themselves, including Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clintonand of course, Donald Trumpwho became the homeowner in 2015 is said to be related to consultation to his bodyguard about whether some sketches were funny or not. That same year, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, who was appointed to the position by Obama, announced he would Strong enforcement of equal time rules in the 2016 presidential election.
The rules originate from the Broadcasting Act 1927 but have been adapted and changed through the 1960srequires “any licensee of a broadcasting station to permit any person who is a duly qualified candidate for any public office to use the broadcasting station to provide equal opportunity to all including other candidates for that position in using that broadcasting station.”
It is a regulation that has attracted particular attention as influence on public opinion has shifted from radio and television to social media. The FCC currently has no jurisdiction over powerful platforms like Meta and X (formerly Twitter), the latter of which has—in words of New York Times—turned into the owner’s reflection Elon Muskhis personal views in the months before the election. It’s worth noting that Carr has been a defender of Musk, announced in April that he opposes efforts to “weaponize the government” against the far-right tycoon.
According to arrive New York TimesMisconceptions and information spread on platforms not controlled by the FCC have caused a significant increase in xenophobia and hate speech. Meanwhile, the FCC is here to fight back reality Enemies: Funny stores like SNL And Jimmy Kimmel Livewhich fined 395,000 USD in 2019 after it used simulated Emergency Alert System sounds to punctuate a monologue joke, another shocking violation of the social relief agency’s clear policies .
