[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 196 (Thursday, October 9, 1997)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 52677-52679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-26700]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

47 CFR Parts 15, 73, 74, and 76

[ET Docket No. 97-206; FCC 97-340]


Technical Requirements To Enable Blocking of Video Programming 
Based on Program Ratings

AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: By this Notice of Proposed Rule Making (``NPRM''), the 
Commission proposes to amend its rules to require that most television 
receivers be equipped with features that enable viewers to block the 
display of video programming with a common rating. Furthermore, the 
Commission proposes to amend its rules to ensure the ratings 
information that is associated with a particular video program is not 
deleted from transmission by broadcast television stations, low power 
television stations, television translator and booster stations, and 
cable television systems. The Commission also proposes that similar 
requirements should be placed on other services that can be used to 
distribute video programming to the home, such as Multipoint 
Distribution Services (MDS) and Direct Broadcast Satellite Service 
(DBS). This action is taken in response to the Parental Choice in 
Television Programming requirements contained in section 551 (c), (d), 
and (e) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-104, 111 
Stat. 56), which amended sections 303 and 330 of the Communications Act 
of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303 and 330). The proposals contained in this NPRM 
are intended to give parents the ability to block video programming 
that they do not want their children to watch.

DATES: Comments must be filed on or before November 24, 1997, and reply 
comments must be filed on or before December 8, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Neal McNeil, Office of Engineering and Technology, (202) 418-2408.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a summary of the Commission's Notice 
of Proposed Rulemaking, ET Docket 97-206, FCC 97-340, adopted September 
25, 1997 and released September 26, 1997. The full text of this 
document is available for inspection and copying during regular 
business hours in the FCC Reference Center, Room 239, 1919 M Street, 
NW, Washington, DC. The complete text of this document also may be 
purchased from the Commission's

[[Page 52678]]

duplication contractor, International Transcription Service, Inc., 
(202) 857-3800, 1231 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036.

Summary of Notice of Proposed Rule Making

    1. In the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (the Telecommunication 
Act), Congress determined that parents should be provided ``with timely 
information about the nature of upcoming video programming and with the 
technological tools that allow them easily to block violent, sexual, or 
other programming that they believe harmful to their children * * *.'' 
Accordingly, Congress (1) mandated the inclusion in most new television 
receivers of the so-called ``V-chip'' technology, which will enable 
viewers to block the display of all programs with a common rating, and 
(2) authorized the Commission to ``Prescribe * * * guidelines and 
recommended procedures for the identification and rating of (such) 
video programming, * * *'' if distributors of video programming do not 
establish acceptable voluntary procedures within one year.
    2. With respect to V-chip technology, section 551(c) of the 
Telecommunications Act directs the Commission to adopt rules requiring 
that any ``apparatus designed to receive television signals that are 
shipped in interstate commerce or manufactured in the United States and 
that have a picture screen 13 inches or greater in size (measured 
diagonally) * * * be equipped with a feature designed to enable viewers 
to block display of all programs with a common rating * * *.'' Section 
551(d) states that the Commission must ``require that all such 
apparatus be able to receive the rating signals which have been 
transmitted by way of line 21 of the vertical blanking interval * * 
*.'' That provision also instructs the Commission to oversee ``the 
adoption of standards by industry for blocking technology,'' and to 
ensure that blocking capability continues to be available to consumers 
as technology advances.
    3. With respect to the ratings, the Telecommunications Act directs 
the Commission to establish a program ratings system, but only if the 
Commission determines that distributors of video programming have not: 
(1) Established voluntary rules for rating video programming that 
contains sexual, violent, or other indecent material about which 
parents should be informed before it is displayed to children, and such 
rules are ``acceptable to the Commission;'' and (2) agreed voluntarily 
to broadcast signals that contain ratings of such programming. 
Distributors of video programming were given 1 year from the date of 
enactment of the Telecommunications Act, until February 8, 1997, to 
meet these requirements.
    4. The Commission Is adopting this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to 
begin the process of requiring television manufacturers to include 
blocking technology in their television receivers and to ensure that 
any ratings information that is provided with video programming is 
transmitted to the television receiver intact and without disruption by 
any broadcast, cable television, or other video programming 
distribution service.

Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    5. As required by section 603 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act,\1\ 
the Commission has prepared an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 
(IRFA) of the expected significant economic impact on small entities by 
the policies and rules proposed in this Notice of Proposed Rule Making 
(Notice). Written public comments are requested on the IRFA. Comments 
must be identified as responses to the IRFA and must be filed by the 
deadlines for comments on the Notice provided above. The Secretary 
shall send a copy of this Notice, including the IRFA, to the Chief 
Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration in accordance 
with paragraph 603(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act.
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    \1\ 5 U.S.C. 603.
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A. Need for and Objectives of the Proposed Rules

    6. The proposed rules are intended to address the Parental Choice 
in Television Programming requirements contained in section 551(c) and 
551(d) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.\2\ Congress has 
determined that parents should be provided ``with timely information 
about the nature of upcoming video programming and with the 
technological tools that allow them to block violent, sexual, or other 
programming that they believe harmful to children. Accordingly, 
Congress (1) mandated the inclusion in most new television receivers of 
the so-called ``V-chip'' technology, which will be capable of reading 
program ratings and blocking programming, if requested, and (2) 
authorized the Commission to establish a rating system and rules 
requiring the transmission of program ratings if distributors of video 
programming do not establish acceptable voluntary procedures within one 
year.
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    \2\ Pub. L. 104-104, 111 Stat. 56 (1996).
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B. Legal Basis

    7. The proposed action is taken pursuant to sections 4(i), 303(f), 
303(r), 303(v), 303(x), and 330(c) of the Communications Act of 1934, 
as amended, 47 U.S.C. 154(i), 303(f), 303(v), 303(x), and 330(c).

C. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which 
the Proposed Rules Will Apply

    8. For the purposes of this Notice, the RFA defines a ``small 
business'' to be the same as a ``small business concern'' under the 
Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 632, unless the Commission has developed 
one or more definitions that are appropriate to its activities.\3\ 
Under the Small Business Act, a small business concern is one that: (1) 
Is independently owned and operated; (2) is not dominant in its field 
of operation; and (3) meets any additional criteria established by the 
Small Business Administration (SBA).\4\
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    \3\ See 5 U.S.C. 601(3).
    \4\ 15 U.S.C. 632.
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    9. The Commission has not developed a definition of small entities 
applicable to V-chip technology. Therefore, we will utilize the SBA 
definition applicable to manufacturers of Radio and Television 
Broadcasting and Communications Equipment. According to the SBA's 
regulations, television equipment manufacturers must have 750 or fewer 
employees in order to qualify as a small business concern.\5\ Census 
Bureau data indicates that there are 858 U.S. companies that 
manufacture radio and television broadcasting and communications 
equipment, and that 778 of these firms have fewer than 750 employees 
and would be classified as small entities.\6\ The Census Bureau 
category is very broad, and specific figures are not available as to 
how many of these firms are manufacturers of television equipment. 
However, we believe that many of the companies that manufacture 
television equipment will be affected by this rulemaking may qualify as 
small entities. We seek comments to this IRFA regarding the number of 
small entities to which the proposed rule pertains.
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    \5\ 13 CFR 121.201, (SIC) Code 3663.
    \6\ U.S. Department of Commerce, 1992 Census of Transportation, 
Communications, and Utilities, SIC Code 3663 (issued may 1995).
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    10. According to SBA regulations, a computer manufacturer must have 
1,000 or fewer employees in order to qualify as a small entity. Census 
Bureau data indicates that there are 1716 firms that manufacture 
electronic computers. Of

[[Page 52679]]

those, 659 have fewer than 500 employees and qualify as small entities. 
The remaining 57 firms have 500 or more employees; however, we are 
unable to determine how many of those have fewer than 1,000 employees 
and therefore also qualify as small entities under the SBA definition.
    11. This proposal will begin the process of requiring television 
manufacturers to include blocking technology in their television 
receivers and to ensure that any ratings information that is provided 
with video programming is transmitted to the television receiver intact 
and without disruption by any broadcast, cable television, or other 
television program distribution services.

D. Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other 
Compliance Requirements

    12. The Commission's rules require television receivers to be 
verified for compliance with applicable FCC technical requirements. See 
47 CFR 15.101, 15.117, and 2.951, et seq. Documentation concerning the 
verification must be kept by the manufacturer or importer. The rules 
ultimately adopted in this proceeding will require that television 
receivers comply with industry-developed standards for blocking display 
of video programming based on program ratings. However, verification 
testing regarding program blocking is not necessary because compliance 
with the industry-developed standards, and the associated Commission 
rules, can be determined easily during the television receiver design 
process. The Commission may, of course, ask manufacturers and importers 
to document upon occasion how a particular television receiver complies 
with the program blocking requirements.

E. Significant Alternatives to Proposed Rules Which Minimize 
Significant Economic Impact on Small Entities and Accomplish Stated 
Objectives

    13. Section 330(c)(4) of the Act directs the Commission to consider 
the existence of appropriate alternative blocking technologies and to 
amend its rules to permit, as an alternative to the ratings-based 
approach, use of a technology that: (1) ``Enables parents to block 
programming based on identifying programs without ratings''; (2) ``is 
available to consumers at a cost which is comparable'' to the cost of 
ratings-based technology; and (3) ``will allow parents to block a broad 
range of programs on a multichannel system as effectively and as 
easily'' as ratings-based technology. At this time, we are not aware of 
any such alternative blocking technologies. Accordingly, we invite 
comment regarding the existence of such alternate blocking technologies 
and whether it would be appropriate to permit them at this time in lieu 
of ratings-based blocking technology. In order to evaluate possible 
alternative blocking technologies, we solicit information regarding the 
cost of any alternative blocking technology as well as the cost of 
implementing ratings-based technology pursuant to EIA-608.
    14. Section 303(x) of the Act makes it clear that the program 
blocking requirements were intended to apply to any ``apparatus 
designed to receive television signals'' that has a picture screen of 
13 inches or larger. We believe that the program blocking requirements 
we are proposing should apply to any television receiver (including 
personal computers) meeting the screen size requirements, regardless of 
whether it is designed to receive video programming that is distributed 
only through cable television systems, MDS, DBS, or by some other 
distribution system.

F. Federal Rules That May Duplicate, Overlap, or Conflict With the 
Proposed Rules

    15. None.

List of Subjects

47 CFR Part 15

    Communications equipment, Computer technology.

47 CFR Part 73

    Communications equipment, Television.

47 CFR Part 74

    Communications equipment, Television.

47 CFR Part 76

    Cable television.

Federal Communications Commission.
William F. Caton,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 97-26700 Filed 10-8-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-M