Harold Arundel Lafount (January 5, 1880 – October 21, 1952) was an American businessman who served on the Federal Radio Commission from 1927 to 1934.

Appointed to the Federal Radio Commission by President Calvin Coolidge, he was in charge of the zone covering the Western United States.

Lafount later managed a number of well-known radio stations in the northeastern United States on behalf of Arde Bulova and served as president of the National Independent Broadcasters.

A licensing issue regarding a station Lafount co-owned resulted in a protracted regulatory and legal matter that was finally decided in the U.S. Supreme Court.

[14] The company also had offices in Logan; on one trip between the two cities, he escaped with only bruises when the gasoline tank of his automobile exploded, hurling him some forty feet.

[6] During the 1910s, the Lafount family had moved from Logan to Salt Lake City,[3] where they lived in a large brick house located at Fifteenth South and Ninth East.

[5] The commission had gotten off to a slow start earlier that year due to problems with vacancies;[7] Lafount was slotted for the Fifth Zone of the new entity, to replace original commissioner John F. Dillon, who had died shortly after taking that position.

[19] After Lafount went to the White House and gave a brief speech of thanks,[19] President Coolidge in response said only, "In case of doubt read the law.

[23] At one point during 1927–1928 he took an 8,200 miles (13,200 km) trip in the zone, where he interviewed over 700 people, including over 100 listeners, representing over 100 radio stations.

[21] At another time during 1930 he climbed to high elevations in southern Colorado to hear the reception that ranchers, sheepherders, and rangers received.

[27] During his first months on the commission, Lafount was an informal member of the allocating committee that led to the FRC's 1928 reallocation of the commercial broadcast radio spectrum under General Order 40.

[28] Lafount subsequently supported the action, which enabled the growth of advertiser-based broadcasting but was criticized by some as a giveaway of a public resource (in the form of clear-channel frequencies) to large business and media interests.

[29] By 1931, Lafount was referring to General Order 40 as "the structure or very foundation upon which broadcasting has been built, and upon which the success or failure of every branch of the radio industry must depend.

"[30] Lafount believed that radio could help bring about a sense of national unity, which he favored, and that "common sources of entertainment" were among those characteristics that "constitute[d] bonds for making our people homogenous.

"[30][34] However, the extent to which broadcast radio was dominated by advertising and by commercial interests became a hot topic, with members of the public requesting that Congress step in and take action.

"[35][37] After witnessing early mechanical television in action,[38] Commissioner Lafount said that the FRC was doing all it could to help develop the still-infant technology in terms of regulatory issues.

[46] These included the well-known stations WNEW in New York, WPEN in Philadelphia, WELI in New Haven, WNBC in Hartford, WFCI in Providence, and WCOP in Boston with WFBR in Baltimore and WWDC in Washington soon joining.

[53] The three co-owners said they had not consciously violated any regulations, because they thought FCC notification was only necessary if a single person gained more than half-control of a station.

[53] In April 1947, the FCC denied the license renewal,[54] saying that Lafount and the other owners had shown "gross carelessness and willful disregard [of facts]" in giving false information about the ownership structure and financial status of the station.

[5] Broadcasting magazine wrote upon his passing that "Lafount was an important influence in the early development of radio regulation.

Social connections through the Lafounts enabled George to gain greater visibility in Washington business and political circles during the 1930s.

[45] By the late 1940s, Harold Lafount had been so impressed with his son-in-law that he asked lawyers to investigate whether the latter's Mexican birth would still make him eligible to run for president; they reported in the affirmative.

George's son, Mitt Romney (of whom Lafount is the maternal grandfather), became cofounder and CEO of Bain Capital, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, Governor of Massachusetts, Republican Party nominee in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, and United States Senator from Utah.