Notice2023-23935
Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval to Office of Management and Budget
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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
October 31, 2023
Issuing agencies
Federal Communications Commission
Abstract
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it might "further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees."
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 209 (Tuesday, October 31, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74490-74493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23935]
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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
[OMB 3060-0967, OMB 3060-1053; FR ID 182049]
Information Collections Being Submitted for Review and Approval
to Office of Management and Budget
AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens,
as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC or the Commission) invites the general
public and other Federal Agencies to take this opportunity to comment
on the following information collection. Pursuant to the Small Business
Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, the FCC seeks specific comment on how it
might ``further reduce the information collection burden for small
business concerns with fewer than 25 employees.''
DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be submitted on or before November 30,
2023.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be sent to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular information collection by selecting
``Currently under 30-day Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using
the search function. Your comment must be submitted into
<a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a> per the above instructions for it to be considered. In
addition to submitting in <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov">www.reginfo.gov</a> also send a copy of your
comment on the proposed information collection to Cathy Williams, FCC,
via email to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5f0f0d1e1f393c3c71383029"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3d6d6f7c7d5b5e5e135a524b">[email protected]</span></a> and to <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#276446534f5e09704e4b4b4e464a546741444409404851"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="b3f0d2c7dbca9de4dadfdfdad2dec0f3d5d0d09dd4dcc5">[email protected]</span></a>. Include in the
comments the OMB control number as shown in the SUPPLEMENTARY
INFORMATION below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information or copies
of the information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-
2918. To view a copy of this information collection request (ICR)
submitted to OMB: (1) go to the web page <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>, (2) look for the section of the web page called ``Currently
Under Review,'' (3) click on the downward-pointing arrow in the
``Select Agency'' box below the ``Currently Under Review'' heading, (4)
select ``Federal Communications Commission'' from the list of agencies
presented in the ``Select Agency'' box, (5) click the ``Submit'' button
to the right of the ``Select Agency'' box, (6) when the list of FCC
ICRs currently under review appears, look for the Title of this ICR and
then click on the ICR Reference Number. A copy of the FCC submission to
OMB will be displayed.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission may not conduct or sponsor a
collection of information unless it displays a currently valid Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. No person shall be
subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of
information subject to the PRA that does not display a valid OMB
control number.
As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), the FCC invited the general public and other Federal Agencies to
take this opportunity to comment on the following information
collection. Comments are requested concerning: (a) Whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's
burden estimates; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity
of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on the respondents, including the use of
automated collection techniques or other forms of information
technology. Pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of
2002, Public Law 107-198, see 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the FCC seeks
specific comment on how it might ``further reduce the information
collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25
employees.''
OMB Control No.: 3060-0967.
Title: Section 79.2, Accessibility of Programming Providing
Emergency Information, and Emergency Information; Section 79.105, Audio
Description and Emergency Information Accessibility Requirements for
All Apparatus; Section 79.106, Audio Description and Emergency
Information Accessibility Requirements for Recording Devices.
Form No.: N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions; and State, Local, or Tribal
Government.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 158 respondents; 261
responses.
[[Page 74491]]
Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 to 5 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual and on occasion reporting
requirements; Recordkeeping requirement; Third party disclosure
requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Voluntary. The statutory authority for the
collection is contained in the Twenty-First Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Public Law 111-260, 124 Stat. 2751,
and sections 4(i), 4(j), 303, 330(b), 713, and 716 of the
Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 154(j), 303,
330(b), 613, and 617.
Total Annual Burden: 275 hours.
Annual Cost Burden: $15,300.
Needs and Uses: In 2000, the Commission adopted rules to require
video programming distributors (VPDs) to make emergency information
provided in the audio portion of the programming accessible to viewers
who have hearing disabilities. Second Report and Order, MM Docket No.
95-176, FCC 00-136. Later that year, to ensure that televised emergency
information is accessible to viewers who are blind or visually
impaired, the Commission modified its rules to require VPDs to make
emergency information audible when provided in the video portion of a
regularly scheduled newscast or a newscast that interrupts regular
programming, and to provide an aural tone when emergency information is
provided visually during regular programming (e.g., through screen
crawls or scrolls). Report and Order, MM Docket No. 99-339, FCC 00-258.
In 2013, the Commission adopted rules related to accessible
emergency information and apparatus requirements for emergency
information and video description. Report and Order and Further Notice
of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket Nos. 12-107 and 11-43, FCC 13-45.
Specifically, the Commission's rules require that VPDs and video
programming providers (VPPs) (including program owners) make emergency
information accessible to individuals who are blind or visually
impaired by using a secondary audio stream to convey televised
emergency information aurally, when such information is conveyed
visually during programming other than newscasts. The Commission's
rules also require certain apparatus that receive, play back, or record
video programming to make available audio description services and
accessible emergency information.
In 2015, the Commission adopted rules to require the following: (1)
apparatus manufacturers must provide a mechanism that is simple and
easy to use for activating the secondary audio stream to access audible
emergency information; and (2) starting no later than July 10, 2017,
multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) must pass through
the secondary audio stream containing audible emergency information
when it is provided on linear programming accessed on second screen
devices (e.g., tablets, smartphones, laptops and similar devices) over
their networks as part of their MVPD services. Second Report and Order
and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, MB Docket No. 12-107,
FCC 15-56.
Finally, in 2020, the Commission adopted rules that included
modernizing the term ``video description'' in the subject rules to the
more widely understood ``audio description.'' Report and Order, MB
Docket No. 11-43, FCC 20-155. These rules are codified at 47 CFR 79.2,
79.105, and 79.106.
Information Collection Requirements
(a) Complaints alleging violations of the emergency information
rules.
Section 79.2(c) of the Commission's rules provides that a complaint
alleging a violation of Sec. 79.2 of its rules, may be transmitted to
the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau by any reasonable means,
such as the Commission's online informal complaint filing system,
letter, facsimile transmission, telephone (voice/TRS/TTY), internet
email, audio-cassette recording, Braille, or some other method that
would best accommodate the complainant's disability. After the
Commission receives the informal complaint, the Commission notifies the
VPD or VPP of the complaint, and the VPD or VPP has 30 days to reply.
(b) Complaints alleging violations of the apparatus emergency
information and audio description requirements.
Complaints alleging violations of the rules containing apparatus
emergency information and audio description requirements, 47 CFR
79.105-79.106, may be transmitted to the Consumer and Governmental
Affairs Bureau by any reasonable means, such as the Commission's online
informal complaint filing system, letter in writing or Braille,
facsimile transmission, telephone (voice/TRS/TTY), email, or some other
method that would best accommodate the complainant's disability. Given
that the population intended to benefit from the rules adopted will be
blind or visually impaired, if a complainant calls the Commission for
assistance in preparing a complaint, Commission staff will document the
complaint in writing for the consumer. The Commission will forward such
complaints, as appropriate, to the named manufacturer or provider for
its response, as well as to any other entity that Commission staff
determines may be involved, and may request additional information from
any relevant parties when, in the estimation of Commission staff, such
information is needed to investigate the complaint or adjudicate
potential violations of Commission rules.
(c) Requests for Commission determination of technical feasibility
of emergency information and audio description apparatus requirements.
The requirements pertaining to apparatus designed to receive or
play back video programming apply only to the extent they are
``technically feasible.'' Parties may raise technical infeasibility as
a defense when faced with a complaint alleging a violation of the
apparatus requirements or they may file a request for a ruling under
section 1.41 of the Commission's rules as to technical infeasibility
before manufacturing or importing the product.
(d) Requests for Commission determination of achievability of
emergency information and audio description apparatus requirements.
The requirements pertaining to certain apparatus designed to
receive, play back, or record video programming apply only to the
extent they are achievable. Manufacturers of apparatus that use a
picture screen of less than 13 inches in size and of recording devices
may petition the Commission, pursuant to 47 CFR 1.41, for a full or
partial exemption from the audio description and emergency information
requirements before manufacturing or importing the apparatus.
Alternatively, manufacturers may assert that a particular apparatus is
fully or partially exempt as a response to a complaint, which the
Commission may dismiss upon a finding that the requirements of this
section are not achievable. A petition for exemption or a response to a
complaint must be supported with sufficient evidence to demonstrate
that compliance with the requirements is not achievable (meaning with
reasonable effort or expense), and the Commission will consider four
specific factors when making such a determination.
(e) Petitions for purpose-based waivers of emergency information
and audio description apparatus requirements.
The Commission may waive emergency information and audio
description apparatus requirements for any apparatus or class of
apparatus that is (a) primarily designed for activities other than
receiving or playing back video programming transmitted
[[Page 74492]]
simultaneously with sound, or (b) designed for multiple purposes,
capable of receiving or playing video programming transmitted
simultaneously with sound but whose essential utility is derived from
other purposes. The Commission will address any requests for a purpose-
based waiver on a case-by-case basis, and waivers will be available
prospectively for manufacturers seeking certainty prior to the sale of
a device.
(f) Submission and review of consumer eligibility to receive an
accessible set-top box.
The Commission granted DIRECTV a waiver with respect to the set-top
box models on which it is not able to implement audio functionality for
emergency information, but conditioned such relief by requiring DIRECTV
to provide, upon request and at no additional cost to customers who are
blind or visually impaired, a set-top box model that is capable of
providing aural emergency information. DIRECTV may require customers
who are blind or visually impaired to submit reasonable documentation
of disability to DIRECTV as a condition to providing the box at no
additional cost.
OMB Control Number: 3060-1053.
Title: Misuse of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service (IP
CTS); Telecommunications Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services
for Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket Nos.
13-24 and 03-123.
Form Number: N/A.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved collection.
Respondents: Business or other for-profit; Individuals or
households.
Number of Respondents and Responses: 187,173 respondents; 673,980
responses.
Estimated Time per Response: 0.1 hours (6 minutes) to 40 hours.
Frequency of Response: Annual, every five years, monthly, and
ongoing reporting requirements; Recordkeeping requirements; Third party
disclosure requirements.
Obligation to Respond: Required to obtain or retain benefits. The
statutory authority for the information collection requirements is
found at Sec. 225 [47 U.S.C. 225] Telecommunications Services for
Hearing-Impaired Individuals; The Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990, (ADA), Public Law 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, 366-69, enacted on July
26, 1990.
Total Annual Burden: 342,103 hours.
Total Annual Cost: $72,000.
Needs and Uses: On August 1, 2003, the Commission released
Telecommunication Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for
Individuals with Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67,
Declaratory Ruling, 68 FR 55898, September 28, 2003, clarifying that
one-line captioned telephone voice carry over (VCO) service is a type
of telecommunications relay service (TRS) and that eligible providers
of such services are eligible to recover their costs from the
Interstate TRS Fund (Fund) in accordance with section 225 of the
Communications Act.
On July 19, 2005, the Commission released Telecommunication Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities, CC Docket No. 98-67 and CG Docket No. 03-123,
Order, 70 FR 54294, September 14, 2005, clarifying that two-line
captioned telephone VCO service, like one-line captioned telephone VCO
service, is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the Fund.
On January 11, 2007, the Commission released Telecommunications
Relay Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with
Hearing and Speech Disabilities, CG Docket No. 03-123, Declaratory
Ruling, 72 FR 6960, February 14, 2007, granting a request for
clarification that Internet Protocol (IP) captioned telephone relay
service (IP CTS) is a type of TRS eligible for compensation from the
Fund.
On August 26, 2013, the Commission issued Misuse of Internet
Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order, 78 FR
53684, August 30, 2013, to regulate practices relating to the marketing
of IP CTS, impose certain requirements for the provision of this
service, and mandate registration and certification of IP CTS users.
On June 8, 2018, the Commission issued Misuse of Internet Protocol
Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services and
Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order and
Declaratory Ruling, 83 FR 30082, June 27, 2018 (2018 IP CTS
Modernization Order), to facilitate the Commission's efforts to reduce
waste, fraud, and abuse and improve its ability to efficiently manage
the IP CTS program through regulating practices related to the
marketing of IP CTS, generally prohibiting the provision of IP CTS to
consumers who do not genuinely need the service, permitting the
provision of IP CTS in emergency shelters, and approving the use of
automatic speech recognition to generate captions without the
assistance of a communications assistant.
On February 15, 2019, the Commission issued Misuse of Internet
Protocol Captioned Telephone Service; Telecommunications Relay Services
and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech
Disabilities, CG Docket Nos. 13-24 and 03-123, Report and Order, and
Order, 84 FR 8457, March 8, 2019 (2019 IP CTS Program Management
Order), requiring the submission of IP CTS user registration
information to the telecommunications relay service (TRS) User
Registration Database (Database) so that the Database administrator can
verify IP CTS users to reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse in
the IP CTS program.
On June 30, 2022, the Commission issued Telecommunications Relay
Services and Speech-to-Speech Services for Individuals with Hearing and
Speech Disabilities; Structure and Practices of the Video Relay Service
Program; Misuse of Internet Protocol Captioned Telephone Service, CG
Docket Nos. 03-123, 10-51, and 13-24, Report and Order, published at 87
FR 57645, September 21, 2022 (Registration Grace Period Order),
allowing IP CTS and Video Relay Service (VRS) providers to provide
compensable service to a new user for up to two weeks after submitting
the user's information to the Database if the user's identity is
verified within that period, in order to offer more efficient service
to IP CTS and VRS users without risk of waste, fraud, and abuse to the
Fund.
On September 30, 2022, the Commission released the Accessible
Carceral Communications Order, Rates for Interstate Inmate Calling
Services, WC Docket No.12-375, Fourth Report and Order, published at 87
FR 75496, December, 9, 2022, (Accessible Carceral Communications
Order), requiring inmate calling services providers to provide
incarcerated TRS-eligible users the ability to access any relay service
eligible for TRS Fund support. To facilitate the registration of IP CTS
users in carceral facilities, the Commission amended the registration
and verification requirements for individual users. The programmatic
changes in information collection burdens that apply to VRS and IP
Relay due to the Accessible Carceral Communications Order are addressed
separately in modifications to information collection No. 3060-1089.
This notice and request for comments pertains to the programmatic
changes in
[[Page 74493]]
information collection burdens that apply to IP CTS due to the
Accessible Carceral Communications Order.
Federal Communications Commission.
Katura Jackson,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2023-23935 Filed 10-30-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P
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