The FCC proposes to require closed captioning for TV programming transmitted via the Internet; comment deadlines already set
The FCC has launched a rulemaking to implement the closed captioning sections of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA). The new rules will impose closed captioning requirements on certain online television programming; they will also require captioning capability for a wide variety of devices that are designed to receive or play back video, potentially including smartphones, computers, tablets, game consoles, video recorders, and set-top boxes.
Closed captioning is the text on a television screen that transcribes the audio portion of the program. (“Closed” means that viewers can turn the captioning on and off at will.) Today most television programming, whether delivered via broadcast, cable, or satellite, must carry closed captioning, and television sets 13 inches or larger must be capable of displaying the captions. But online television – think Hulu – has not been subject to these rules. And the rapidly-proliferating variety of non-television video display devices, like tablets, have not been required to have the technical capability to display captioning.
That’s about to change. Congress gave the Commission until January 12, 2012, to bring the closed captioning rules into the era of mobile and Internet television.
Online Video Captioning
The proposed rules would require captioning only for on-line television programming: i.e., programming offered by a television broadcast station “or generally considered comparable to programming provided by a television broadcast station.” This does not include “consumer-generated media,” so the FCC will not require closed captioning for the funny cat videos you post to YouTube. The FCC seeks comment on the scope of the new rule, asking, for example, what would constitute IP-delivered video programming that is not comparable to programming provided by a television broadcast station.
Furthermore, and importantly, the closed captioning requirement will apply only to programming that was previously shown with captions over traditional media such as broadcast or cable. The Commission proposes to create a mechanism through which distributors can find out whether programs they intend to show online have been previously shown on television with captions.
In contrast to the current closed captioning rules (the ones that apply to 20th century media, like broadcast and cable), the proposed rules place the primary responsibility for providing closed captioning of online video on content owners – the persons or entities actually holding the copyright, rather than the distributors. Video programming owners will be required to send program files with all required captions to video provider/distributors, who will then have to pass the captioned programming through to the end user. Either the content owner or the distributor can petition for relief based on a showing that compliance would be “economically burdensome.”
The NPRM follows the Act’s propensity to play fast and easy with the term “IP-delivered”, using it to mean, generally, “over the Internet.” Of course, data transmitted over the Internet uses Internet protocol (IP). But there is an ongoing transition to networks that deliver all content via IP, regardless of the communications channel. Some providers, for example, operate “triple play” lines to the home that deliver telephone, television, and Internet access using a single IP stream. The TV component of this service could be considered “IP-delivered” video, but it’s not over the Internet. To avoid unintended, duplicative, or confusing obligations, the Commission should clarify how the new rules will relate to these services.
Captioning Capability of Video Devices
The CVAA requires that, if technically feasible, any “apparatus” designed to receive or play back video programming, as well as any “interconnection mechanisms or standards,” must be able to display closed captions (or transmit them, as the case may be). The only exceptions are for: (1) display-only monitors; (2) devices with a picture screen less than 13 inches for which closed captioning capability is not “achievable”; and (3) devices for which the Commission has waived the requirement because they derive their essential utility from non-video purposes.
On the one hand, this represents a stunning expansion of FCC jurisdiction over a vast host of devices it has not previously regulated (except as to stray radio-frequency emissions). Device manufacturers may well become alarmed. On the other hand, except for PCs and larger laptops, most display devices may be able to claim an "achievability" exemption, an exemption available only for devices with less-than-13-inch screens. The iPad, for example, comes in at 9.7 inches, well under the limit, and most competing tablets are smaller. Furthermore, if the industry can settle on a standard file format for IP captions, a simple software switch would be enough to toggle the captions on and off. Added requirements for hardware display devices would then be essentially zero.
The FCC seeks comment on the definitions, terminology, and scope of the requirement, as well as the parameters of each of the exemption categories. Does “apparatus” include software? Are computer monitors exempt? How is “achievable” different from “technically feasible”? Is there a particular file delivery format that devices should support? What multi-purpose devices, or categories of devices, should be waived? And so on. Commenters should note the specific rule provisions set out in Appendix A that are not addressed in the text: for example, requirements allowing users to select the appearance and other properties of the closed captioning display.
The NPRM also proposes procedures for complaint and enforcement of the new rules, including a stipulation that “de minimis” failures will not be treated as rule violations.
This proceeding is set to move quickly, mainly because of the Congressionally-imposed deadline (January 12, 2012) for getting the rules adopted. The Commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking got hustled into the Federal Register, as a result of which comments are due by October 18, 2011, and reply comments by October 28.
