Karlo Maalouf, owner and founder of Mr. Antenna, has been singled out by the FCC’s Office of General Counsel for submitting a prohibited written presentation during a Commission “Sunshine Agenda Period.”
The presentation was submitted by Maalouf on May 31 in MB Docket Nos. 24-147
and 24-148 — the new NPRM focused on low-power television and online public file requirements.
With specified exceptions not applicable here, section 1.1203 of the Commission’s Rules, 47 CFR § 1.1203, prohibits the making of any presentation, whether ex parte or not, to decisionmaking personnel concerning any matter listed on the Commission’s Sunshine Agenda from the day after the Sunshine Agenda is released until the Commission releases the text of a decision or order relating to that matter or removes the item from the Sunshine Agenda.
That didn’t stop Maalouf, who addressed the merits of the above-referenced proceeding, which was included on the Commission’s Sunshine Agenda by Public Notice released May 30 for consideration at the June Open Meeting of the FCC.
The Commission removed the item from the Sunshine Agenda on June 6, terminating the Sunshine Period. And, in accordance with the rule, the presentation will be associated with, but not made part of, the record in the above-referenced proceeding.
