Aqua Teen Bomb Scare: Update

Turner Broadcasting Systems and Interference Inc. (Turner Broadcasting) have made an agreement with the City of Boston to pay $2 million for an advertising campaign that caused a widespread bomb scare.^[1] We discussed this earlier last week.

According to Attorney General Martha Coakley, the agreement was made with several state and local agencies, and it resolves any potential civil or criminal claims that could have been charged against the companies.^[2] More than three dozen blinking electronic signs were found Wednesday, January 31, in the greater Boston area, where bomb squads responded to reports of the devices in a subway station, on bridges and elsewhere.^[3]

As part of the settlement, $1 million will be used to reimburse the agencies and $1 million will be used to fund homeland security and other programs. Turner Broadcasting, also will issue a public statement accepting complete responsibility and apologizing for the incident.^[4] ''We understand now that in today's post-Sept. 11 environment, it was reasonable and appropriate for citizens and law enforcement officials to take any perceived threat posed by our light boards very seriously and to respond as they did,'' the statement said.^[5]

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^[1] Glen Johnson, Turner Broadcasting to Pay $2 mil. Over Ad Scare, AP (via CNN), February 5, 2007.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.