FCC Will Need to Justify Applying Closed Captioning Standards to Programmers, Says Broadcast Lawyer
The FCC’s further rulemaking seeking comment on applying closed captioning quality standards to programmers is likely to attract “a disproportionately large and loud response,” said Fletcher Heald broadcast attorney Harry Cole in a blog post on the law firm's website.…
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It’s not clear how much the FCC can regulate programmers who aren’t affiliated with other entities the FCC regulates, Cole said. “How precisely can the Commission justify extending its regulatory tentacles to such companies?” he said. Laws mandating access for the disabled could give the commission a handle on applying captioning rules to programmers, but any eventual rule will have to go into detail about the source of FCC authority, Cole said. Comments on the second Further NPRM are due Jan. 20, replies Jan. 30 (see 1412310036).