Notice2022-00782
Accessibility Rules for Closed Captioning Display Settings
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 18, 2022
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
FCC seeks to refresh the record on proposed rules intended to enable individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing to fully enjoy video programming through closed captioning.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 11 (Tuesday, January 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2607-2609]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00782]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[MB Docket No. 12-108; DA 22-20; FRS ID 67126]
Accessibility Rules for Closed Captioning Display Settings
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: FCC seeks to refresh the record on proposed rules intended to
enable individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing to fully enjoy
video programming through closed captioning.
DATES: Comments are due on or before February 17, 2022, and reply
comments are due on or before March 4, 2022.
ADDRESSES: The full text of this public notice is available
electronically in ASCII, Microsoft Word, and/or Adobe Acrobat via ECFS
and at <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/document/media-bureau-seeks-refresh-record-closed-captioning-rules">https://www.fcc.gov/document/media-bureau-seeks-refresh-record-closed-captioning-rules</a>. You may submit comments, identified by MB
Docket No. 12-108, by any of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal Communications Commission's Website: <a href="http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/">http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/</a>. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
<bullet> People with Disabilities: Contact the FCC to request
reasonable accommodations (accessible format documents, sign language
interpreters, CART, etc.) by email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f393c3c4a4f4b3f191c1c51181009"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="12545151272226527471713c757d64">[email protected]</span></a> or phone: 202-418-
0530.
For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, contact
Michael Scurato (202-418-2083; <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#04496d676c6561682a5767717665706b446267672a636b72"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0944606a61686c65275a6a7c7b687d66496f6a6a276e667f">[email protected]</span></a>).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Media Bureau's
Public Notice, DA 22-20, released on January 10, 2022. In 2015, the
Commission proposed rules that would require manufacturers of covered
apparatus and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) to
make closed captioning display settings readily accessible to
individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing and asked commenters to
address the Commission's authority to adopt such rules under the
Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 (TDCA). The comment period
closed nearly six years ago. To ensure that the Commission has the
benefit of current information, including any developments relating to
these issues since the release of the underlying Second Further Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking (Second Further Notice), 81 FR 5971 (Feb. 4,
2016), the Media Bureau invites parties to update the record on these
issues.
The TDCA amended the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the
Act), to require that television receivers contain built-in
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decoder circuitry designed to display closed captioning and to require
that the Commission's rules provide performance and display standards
for such built-in decoder circuitry. The Commission subsequently
adopted such standards for the display of closed captions on digital
television receivers which allow users to customize the appearance of
captions by changing the font, size, color, and other features of
captions.
The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act
of 2010 (CVAA) broadened the application of closed captioning display
and functionality requirements to additional types of apparatus, beyond
broadcast television receivers, to include any apparatus designed to
receive or play back video programming transmitted simultaneously with
sound. Pursuant to the CVAA, the Commission adopted performance and
display standards for the broadened category of covered apparatus and
in particular adopted functional requirements to ensure that consumers
can modify caption display features on covered apparatus.
In 2015, the Commission issued the Second Further Notice in this
docket, seeking comment on proposed rules that would require
manufacturers and MVPDs to ensure that consumers are able to readily
access user display settings for closed captioning on covered
apparatus. Since the Commission last invited comment on these issues,
consumers and other stakeholders have raised ongoing concerns about
difficulties consumers faced when attempting to access closed
captioning display settings across a host of technologies and services.
Request for Additional Comment. Accordingly, the Media Bureau
invites all stakeholders to update the record after reviewing the
specific proposals, underlying analysis, and questions contained in the
Second Further Notice, as well as the existing record in this
proceeding. The Second Further Notice presented a host of issues that
generated substantive discussion, including the Commission's authority
pursuant to the TDCA to require that closed captioning display settings
be readily accessible, the means by which the Commission would
implement a requirement that consumers be able to readily access user
display settings for closed captioning, and the extent to which section
303(u)(1) could be a source of authority to impose closed captioning
requirements to all apparatus, as interpreted consistently with
Commission precedent. The Second Further Notice further asked which
entities should be responsible for compliance and, specifically,
whether both manufacturers and MVPDs should be obligated to facilitate
the ability of consumers to locate and control closed captioning
display settings. The Second Further Notice also sought comment on the
appropriate timeframe for requiring covered entities to ensure that
closed captioning display settings are made readily accessible to
consumers. Herein, the Media Bureau specifically seeks updated comment
on these and other issues posed in the Second Further Notice.
Commenters are welcome to submit new or additional relevant
information about the current state of the availability of hardware and
software solutions designed to facilitate the activation and
customization of closed captioning, and its ease of use. For example,
to what extent are manufacturers and MVPDs currently ``making caption
display settings accessible via mechanisms reasonably comparable to a
button, key, or icon,'' such as ``a button on the remote or access
through the first level of a menu,'' as noted in the Second Further
Notice?
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis. The Second Further Notice
included an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA) pursuant to
5 U.S.C. 603, exploring the potential impact on small entities of the
Commission's proposals. The Media Bureau invites parties to file
comments on the IRFA in light of this request to refresh the record.
Filing Requirements. All filings responsive to this Public Notice
must reference MB Docket No. 12-108. Pursuant to sections 1.415 and
1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested
parties may file comments and reply comments on or before the dates
indicated on the first page of this document. Comments may be filed
using the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). See
Electronic Filing of Documents in Rulemaking Proceedings, 63 FR 24121
(1998).
<bullet> Electronic Filers: Comments may be filed electronically
using the internet by accessing the ECFS: <a href="http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/">http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/</a>.
<bullet> Paper Filers: Parties who choose to file by paper must
file an original and one copy of each filing.
<bullet> Filings can be sent by commercial overnight courier, or by
first-class or overnight U.S. Postal Service mail. All filings must be
addressed to the Commission's Secretary, Office of the Secretary,
Federal Communications Commission.
[cir] Commercial overnight mail (other than U.S. Postal Service
Express Mail and Priority Mail) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive,
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. U.S. Postal Service first-class, Express,
and Priority mail must be addressed to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC
20554.
<bullet> Effective March 19, 2020, and until further notice, the
Commission no longer accepts any hand or messenger delivered filings.
This is a temporary measure taken to help protect the health and safety
of individuals, and to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19. See FCC
Announces Closure of FCC Headquarters Open Window and Change in Hand-
Delivery Policy, Public Notice, DA 20-304 (March 19, 2020).
People with Disabilities. To request materials in accessible
formats for people with disabilities (braille, large print, electronic
files, audio format), send an email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection" class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d7b1b4b4e2e7e397b1b4b4f9b0b8a1">[email protected]</a> or call the FCC's
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530 (voice).
Ex Parte Rules. This proceeding has been designated as a ``permit-
but-disclose'' proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte
rules. Persons making ex parte presentations must file a copy of any
written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation
within two business days after the presentation (unless a different
deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making
oral ex parte presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the
presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise
participating in the meeting at which the ex parte presentation was
made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during
the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of
the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the
presenter's written comments, memoranda or other filings in the
proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or
arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings
(specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data
or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the
memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during ex
parte meetings are deemed to be written ex parte presentations and must
be filed consistent with rule 1.1206(b). In proceedings governed by
rule 1.49(f) or for which the Commission has made available a method of
electronic filing, written ex parte presentations and memoranda
summarizing oral ex parte presentations, and all attachments
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thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system
available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format
(e.g., .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this
proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission's ex parte
rules.
Federal Communications Commission.
Thomas Horan,
Chief of Staff, Media Bureau.
[FR Doc. 2022-00782 Filed 1-14-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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