Any such equipment on the floor or on the shelves is supposed to be prominently labeled. When the labeling rule first went into effect, the FCC clearly fanned out its field agents and levied fines against all sorts of retailers, large or small, brick and mortar or virtual. It hasn’t been as active of late, we figured because there are no longer many violations, but two companies have just been hit with NALs for failure to label analog receiving equipment. Value City Department Stores was hit for $216K, and of all retailers, Toys “R” Us was hit for $248K.
RBR/TVBR observation: Is this the regulatory equivalent of taking candy from a baby? Actually, it isn’t, and if you’re a parent, you know that all kinds of things wind up prominently displayed in toy stores in such a way as to activate a child’s gimme gene. Consider the fact that a receiver in a child’s room is very likely going to be one of those that does NOT get hooked up to cable, and the Toys “R” Us hit becomes a very important protection for unwary parents. Thanks, FCC for looking out for us.
