Information Collection Being Reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission, 57448-57450 [2023-18091]
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57448
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2023 / Notices
requirements, interventions, protests,
service, and qualifying facilities filings
can be found at: https://www.ferc.gov/
docs-filing/efiling/filing-req.pdf. For
other information, call (866) 208–3676
(toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659.
The Commission’s Office of Public
Participation (OPP) supports meaningful
public engagement and participation in
Commission proceedings. OPP can help
members of the public, including
landowners, environmental justice
communities, Tribal members and
others, access publicly available
information and navigate Commission
processes. For public inquiries and
assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for
rehearing, the public is encouraged to
contact OPP at (202) 502–6595 or OPP@
ferc.gov.
Dated: August 17, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023–18109 Filed 8–22–23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[CERCLA–02–2023–2003; FRL–11171–01–
R2]
Proposed CERCLA Cost Recovery
Settlement for the Frankfort Asbestos
Superfund Site, Village of Frankfort,
Herkimer County, New York
Environmental Protection
Agency.
ACTION: Notice; request for public
comment.
Pasquale Evangelista,
Director, Superfund & Emergency
Management Division U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Region 2.
In accordance with the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability
Act of 1980, as amended (‘‘CERCLA’’),
notice is hereby given by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency
(‘‘EPA’’), Region 2, of a proposed cost
recovery settlement agreement
(‘‘Settlement’’) pursuant to CERCLA,
with Crown Container Transfer Station
Co., Inc. (‘‘Settling Party’’) for the
Frankfort Asbestos Superfund Site
(‘‘Site’’), located in the Village of
Frankfort, Herkimer County, New York.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on
or before September 22, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the
proposed Settlement and submission of
comments must be via electronic mail.
Comments should reference the
Frankfort Asbestos Superfund Site,
Frankfort, Herkimer County, New York,
Index No. CERCLA–02–2023–2003. For
those unable to communicate via
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
AGENCY:
SUMMARY:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
electronic mail, please contact the EPA
employee identified below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jocelyn Scott, Attorney, Office of
Regional Counsel, New York/Caribbean
Superfund Branch, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 290 Broadway, 17th
Floor, New York, NY 10007–1866.
Email: scott.jocelyn@epa.gov Telephone:
212–637–3179.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Settling Party will pay $55,000 to the
EPA Hazardous Substance Superfund in
partial reimbursement of EPA’s past
response costs paid in connection with
the Site. This payment shall be made
within 30 days of the Effective Date of
the Settlement. The Settlement includes
a covenant by EPA not to sue or to take
administrative action against the
Settling Party pursuant to section 107(a)
of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a), with
regard to EPA’s past response costs as
provided in the Settlement. For thirty
(30) days following the date of
publication of this notice, EPA will
receive written comments relating to the
Settlement. EPA will consider all
comments received and may modify or
withdraw its consent to the Settlement
if comments received disclose facts or
considerations that indicate that the
proposed Settlement is inappropriate,
improper, or inadequate. EPA’s
response to any comments received will
be available for public inspection at
EPA Region 2, 290 Broadway, New
York, New York 10007–1866.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:27 Aug 22, 2023
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[FR Doc. 2023–18097 Filed 8–22–23; 8:45 am]
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
[OMB 3060–0967; FR ID 164365]
Information Collection Being Reviewed
by the Federal Communications
Commission
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice and request for
comments.
AGENCY:
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.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00043
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 PRA@
fcc.gov and to Cathy.Williams@fcc.gov.
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;
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2023 / Notices
Recordkeeping requirement; Third party
disclosure requirement.
Obligation to Respond: Voluntary.
The statutory authority for the
collection is contained in the TwentyFirst 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)
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17:27 Aug 22, 2023
Jkt 259001
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 § 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
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57449
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
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57450
Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 162 / Wednesday, August 23, 2023 / Notices
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
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
[MB Docket No. 23–267; DA 23–678; FR ID
165332]
Designating Applications To Renew
Low Power Television Stations
Licensed to Jennifer Juarez
Federal Communications
Commission.
ACTION: Notice; Hearing Designation
Order/Order to Show Cause
AGENCY:
In this document, the Media
Bureau of the Federal Communications
Commission commences a hearing
proceeding to determine, among other
things, if the named licensee, Jennifer
Juarez, and Antonio Cesar Guel, former
licensee through his ownership of
Hispanic Christian Community
Network, Inc. (HCCN): lacked candor
and misrepresented material facts to the
Commission; abused FCC processes by
engaging in a sham assignment of
stations that apparently allowed Guel’s
improper and continued control of
them; possess the requisite character
qualifications to be a Commission
licensee and, as a result, whether the
stations’ renewal applications should be
denied/dismissed and the stations
cancelled or revoked, whether to impose
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SUMMARY:
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17:27 Aug 22, 2023
Jkt 259001
forfeitures against the parties, and
whether to issue an order directing
Guel/HCCN to cease and desist from
violating provisions of Commission
rules and the Communications Act of
1934, as amended.
DATES: Each party to the proceeding
(except for the Chief, Enforcement
Bureau), in person or by counsel, shall
file with the Commission, by August 31,
2023, a written appearance stating the
party will appear on the date fixed for
hearing and present evidence on the
issues specified herein.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Dana E. Leavitt, Video Division, Media
Bureau at (202) 418–1317 or
Dana.Leavitt@fcc.gov. For additional
information concerning the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA) information
collection requirements contained in
this document, contact Cathy Williams
at 202–418–2918, or Cathy.Williams@
fcc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a
synopsis of the Bureau’s HDO in MB
Docket No. 23–267, DA 23–678, adopted
and released on August 10, 2023. The
full text of this document is available for
download at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/
attachments/DA-23-678A1.pdf. To
request materials in accessible formats
(braille, large print, computer diskettes,
or audio recordings), please send an
email to FCC504@fcc.gov or call the
Consumer & Government Affairs Bureau
at (202) 418–0530 (VOICE), (202) 418–
0432 (TTY).
Synopsis
Hearing Designation Order to
Determine, Inter Alia, Whether HCCN
and/or Antonio Cesar Guel are Real
Parties in Interest in Pending
Applications to Renew Authorizations
for Low-Power Television Stations
Licensed to Jennifer Juarez; Whether the
Parties Engaged in a Sham Transaction
to Allow HCCN/Guel Continued Control
of the Stations and Abused Commission
Processes; Whether the Parties Engaged
in Misrepresentation and/or Lack of
Candor Before the Commission;
Whether the Parties Possess the
Requisite Character Qualifications to be
Licensees; and Whether Forfeitures
Should be Imposed and a Cease and
Desist Order Should be Issued Against
HCCN and/or Guel
In this Order to Show Cause Why A
Cease and Desist Order Should Not Be
Issued, Order to Show Cause Why an
Order of Revocation Should Not Be
Issued, Hearing Designation Order,
Notice of Opportunity for Hearing, and
Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (HDO), the Media Bureau
(Bureau) of the Federal Communications
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Frm 00045
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Commission (Commission or FCC) asks
the ALJ to determine the character
qualifications of the three designated
entities, Hispanic Christian Community
Network, Inc., Antonio Cesar Guel, and
Jennifer Juarez and whether they
possess the requisite character
qualifications to hold broadcast
licenses, whether to cancel or revoke 7
low power TV (LPTV) stations, and
whether to issue a cease and desist
order against HCCN and Antonio Cesar
Guel to stop violating the Act and our
rules. The HDO is the result of an
investigation that began in 2018 to
explore the extent to which Hispanic
Christian Community Network, Inc.
(HCCN), Antonio Cesar Guel (Guel), and
Jennifer Juarez (Juarez) may have
violated provisions of the
Communications Act of 1934, as
amended (the Act), and our rules
pertaining to foreign ownership limits,
unauthorized transfers of control/realparty-in-interest issues, and truthful
statements made to the FCC. The HDO
also provides notice of apparent liability
against the entities for their respective
violations and failures to disclose
material information in their assignment
application, and lack of candor and
misrepresentation of material facts in
responding to Bureau inquiries.
1. Background
The Parties: Jennifer Juarez, aka
‘‘Jenifer’’ Juarez, is the named licensee
of the Stations. Juarez states she had no
broadcast experience when she agreed
in 2010 to acquire the stations from
HCCN, which was 100% directly owned
by Antonio Cesar Guel, her uncle. She
avers that ‘‘Antonio Cesar Guel helps us
with keeping the stations on air. He
provides programming from some of the
churches or pastors that he knows and
is also our representative with some
advertising agencies.’’ Juarez further
avers she has no personnel but that Guel
‘‘provides a lot of the technical
assistance and advice I need’’ and she
receives ‘‘a great deal of help from my
uncle in getting help with contacts in
the industry, contracts, programming,
building the stations, moving the
stations, etc.’’ Juarez also states that she
relies on and receives a great deal of
help from her cousin Maria and some
help from her cousin Ana (Antonio
Guel’s daughters), ‘‘as they also are in
the broadcast business. As a result, I
have not really had to put much time
into the stations.’’ Juarez further avers
she receives ‘‘a great deal of help from
my attorney and outside engineer,’’
neither of whom she names.
Guel has been a broadcast licensee
since 2005. He was the 100% owner of
HCCN, which applied for and bought
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]]>Agencies
[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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
