Legal Definitions - Equal Time Act

The Equal Time Act is a federal law that requires broadcasting-facility licensees to provide equal opportunities to all legally qualified candidates for public office who use their facility for broadcasting. This means that if a candidate is given airtime, all other candidates for the same office must also be given the same amount of airtime.

During an election season, a local radio station invites a candidate for mayor to appear on a talk show. The candidate is given 30 minutes to discuss their platform and answer questions from the host and listeners. The Equal Time Act requires that the radio station must also offer 30 minutes of airtime to all other legally qualified candidates for mayor.

Another example could be a television station that invites a candidate for governor to participate in a debate. The Equal Time Act requires that the station must also invite all other legally qualified candidates for governor to participate in the same debate.

These examples illustrate how the Equal Time Act ensures that all candidates for public office have an equal opportunity to communicate their message to the public through broadcasting facilities.