Blackout Period

Blackout periods, or just “blackouts,” can refer to two different things (neither of which are when your power goes out and you have no idea what to do with yourself, and become depressingly aware of your own mortality). In general, it’s when someone is restricted from doing something for a temporary amount of time.

Between organizations or businesses, there may be a blackout period in a contract to keep things PC. For instance, some areas have blackout periods on political advertising in the days right before an election takes place.

Within a company, there may be a blackout period while change is happening. For instance, if your bank’s website is temporarily down as they transition to a new UI, or if a mutual fund is shifting from one fund manager to another, or if there's cake in the conference room for Susan's birthday, and everyone's invited.

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