[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 162 (Wednesday, August 23, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57448-57450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-18091]


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FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

[OMB 3060-0967; FR ID 164365]


Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal 
Communications Commission

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, 
and as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), the 
Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) invites the 
general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to 
comment on the following information collections. Comments are 
requested concerning: 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; the accuracy of the Commission's burden estimate; ways to 
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; 
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; and ways to further reduce the 
information collection burden on small business concerns with fewer 
than 25 employees.

DATES: Written PRA comments should be submitted on or before October 
23, 2023. If you anticipate that you will be submitting comments but 
find it difficult to do so within the period of time allowed by this 
notice, you should advise the contact listed below as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Direct all PRA comments to Cathy Williams, FCC, via email to 
[email protected] and to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For additional information about the 
information collection, contact Cathy Williams at (202) 418-2918.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FCC 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.
    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.
    Estimated Time per Response: 0.5 to 5 hours.
    Frequency of Response: Annual and on occasion reporting 
requirements;

[[Page 57449]]

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 simultaneously 
with sound, or (b) designed for multiple purposes, capable of receiving 
or playing video programming transmitted

[[Page 57450]]

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.

Federal Communications Commission.
Marlene Dortch,
Secretary, Office of the Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-18091 Filed 8-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6712-01-P