Shutdown Doesn’t Cancel FCC Mandate

Like many government agencies impacted by the government shutdown, the FCC has stated that they'll be operating with a skeleton crew moving forward, with some 1,700 full-time employees sent home until the shutdown ends.

According to Karl Bode at dslreports.com, FCC commissioners and three inspectors general will be working.

Another sixteen employees will be on staff to handle things like interference detection and disaster response, national security issues and IT support, although the FCC website is down. Consumer protection will be one of the things put on hiatus.

"Consumer complaint and inquiry phone lines cannot be answered; consumer protection and local competition enforcement must cease; licensing services, including broadcast, wireless, and wireline, must cease; management of radio spectrum and the creation of new opportunities for competitive technologies and services for the American public must be suspended; and equipment authorizations, including those bringing new electronic devices to American consumers, cannot be provided," said the FCC.

And with the FCC shutdown, it doesn’t mean TV viewers will see nudity and it doesn’t mean listeners will hear f-bombs on the radio.

Eventually, the bureaucrats at the FCC will return to work.  And that’s when they’ll begin fielding complaints again. A funding-related door-shuttering doesn't overturn federal law or cancel the FCC's mandate. It also doesn't mean that the FCC can't revoke the license of any broadcaster who flouts its rules.