Don't Lie to the Commission

The FCC has revised its rules to strengthen the requirements for the submission of truthful statements to the commission. The agency prohibits written and oral statements that are intentionally incorrect or misleading and written statements that are made without a reasonable basis for believing that the statement is correct and not misleading.

The commission is imposing on the submitters a duty of due diligence, including the duty to take appropriate affirmative steps to determine the truthfulness of what is being submitted. The FCC has broadened the category of persons subject to its requirements to include basically anyone that has commission business.