**DA 02-1852**

**Released: July 31, 2002**

**REMINDER TO VIDEO PROGRAMMING DISTRIBUTORS OF OBLIGATION TO MAKE
EMERGENCY INFORMATION ACCESSIBLE TO PERSONS WITH HEARING OR VISION
DISABILITIES**

This Public Notice is to remind video programming distributors,
including broadcasters, cable operators, and satellite television
services of their obligation to make emergency information accessible to
persons with hearing and vision disabilities.[^1] In the case of persons
who are deaf or hard of hearing, emergency information that is provided
in the audio portion of the programming must be provided using closed
captioning or other methods of visual presentation, such as open
captioning, crawls, or scrolls that appear on the screen. Emergency
information provided by means other than closed captioning should not
block any closed captioning, and, closed captioning should not block any
emergency information provided by means other than closed captioning.
This rule regarding access to emergency information for persons with
hearing disabilities became effective on August 29, 2000. [^2]

The same information must also be provided in a manner that is
accessible to persons who are blind or have low vision. Specifically,
emergency information that is provided in the video portion of a
regularly scheduled newscast or a newscast that interrupts regular
programming must be made accessible. This requires the oral description
of emergency information in the main audio, such as open video
description. If the emergency information is being provided in the video
portion of programming that is not a regularly scheduled newscast or a
newscast that interrupts regular programming (e.g., the programmer
provides the emergency information through "crawling" or "scrolling"
during regular programming), this information must be accompanied by an
aural tone. This tone is to alert persons with vision disabilities that
the broadcaster is providing emergency information, and alert such
persons to tune to a radio, the Secondary Audio Programming ("SAP")
channel or a designated digital channel for more information.

This rule regarding access to emergency information for persons with
vision disabilities became effective February 2, 2001.[^3]

Emergency information is information that helps to protect life, health,
safety or property, and can include information about immediate weather
situations such as tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tidal waves,
earthquakes, icing conditions, heavy snows, widespread fires, warnings
and watches for impending changes in weather. It can also include
information about other emergencies, such as the discharge of toxic
gases, widespread power failures and industrial explosions, for example.
The rule applies to emergency information primarily intended for
distribution to an audience in the geographic area in which the
emergency is occurring.

The critical details that must be made available in an accessible form
include, for example specific details about the geographic areas that
are or will be affected, evacuation orders, detailed descriptions of
areas to be evacuated, specific evacuation routes, approved shelters or
ways to take shelter in one's home, instructions on how to secure
personal property, road closures, and how to obtain relief assistance.

On August 13, 2001, the Commission released a *Public Notice* reminding
the public and video programming distributors of the distributors'
obligation to provide emergency information in a format accessible to
people with hearing disabilities. At that time, the Commission noted
that it had received a number of complaints from residents of
California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan,
Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas
asserting that video programming distributors had failed to make local
emergency information accessible to viewers with hearing disabilities.
Among other things, the complaints reported a failure to provide visual
information about the direct paths of hurricanes, storms, and other
dangerous weather conditions, as well as precautions needed to respond
to those conditions. Some consumers also reported blocking of critical
visual emergency information (e.g., emergency school closing
information) by other information on the screen. These complaints
generally alleged that contacting programming distributors resulted in
little relief to complainants.

Since the issuance of that *Public Notice*, the Commission has continued
to receive complaints from people who are deaf or hard of hearing
raising many of these same issues. We emphasize that emergency
broadcasts lacking visual displays and video descriptions deny persons
with hearing and vision disabilities access to vital information. To the
extent that some video programming distributors may be unaware of the
nature of their obligations under the Commission\'s emergency
information rule, the Commission hereby reiterates that all distributors
of video programming are obliged to provide emergency information in a
format that is accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or
blind or have low vision.[^4]

Attached is the text of the rule itself, 47 C.F.R. § 79.2. This rule and
related Fact Sheets summarizing the closed captioning and video
description and access to emergency information rules are also available
at the FCC Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau\'s website,
<http://www.fcc.gov/cgb>.

The full texts of these documents are available for public inspection
and copying during regular business hours at the FCC Reference
Information Center, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room CY-A257,
Washington, DC, 20554.

These documents may be purchased from the Commission\'s duplicating
contractor, Qualex International, Portals II, 445 12th Street, SW, Room
CY-B402, Washington, DC, 20554, (202) 863-2893 (voice), (202) 863-2898
(fax), (202) 863-2897 (TTY), or via e-mail <qualexint@aol.com>.

This document is available to individuals with disabilities requiring
accessible formats (electronic ASCII text, Braille, large print, and
audiocassette) by contacting Brian Millin at (202) 418-7426 (Voice),
(202) 418- 7365 (TTY), or by sending an e-mail to <bmillin@fcc.gov>.

Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau Contact: Dana Jackson, (202)
418-2247 (voice); (202) 418-7898 (TTY); e-mail <dljackso@fcc.gov>.

**- FCC -**

47 C.F.R. § 79.2

§ 79.2 Accessibility of Programming Providing Emergency Information.

\(a\) Definitions.

\(1\) For purposes of this section, the definitions in Sections 79.1 and
79.3 apply.

\(2\) Emergency information. Information, about a current emergency,
that is intended to further the protection of life, health, safety, and
property, i.e., critical details regarding the emergency and how to
respond to the emergency. Examples of the types of emergencies covered
include tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, tidal waves, earthquakes, icing
conditions, heavy snows, widespread fires, discharge of toxic gases,
widespread power failures, industrial explosions, civil disorders,
school closings and changes in school bus schedules resulting from such
conditions, and warnings and watches of impending changes in weather.

Note to paragraph (a)(2): Critical details include, but are not limited
to, specific details regarding the areas that will be affected by the
emergency, evacuation orders, detailed descriptions of areas to be
evacuated, specific evacuation routes, approved shelters or the way to
take shelter in one\'s home, instructions on how to secure personal
property, road closures, and how to obtain relief assistance.

\(b\) Requirements for Accessibility of Programming Providing Emergency
Information.

\(1\) Video programming distributors must make emergency information, as
defined in paragraph (a) of this section, accessible as follows:

\(i\) Emergency information that is provided in the audio portion of the
programming must be made accessible to persons with hearing disabilities
by using a method of closed captioning or by using a method of visual
presentation, as described in Section 79.1 of this part.

\(ii\) Emergency information that is provided in the video portion of a
regularly scheduled newscast, or newscast that interrupts regular
programming, must be made accessible to persons with visual
disabilities; and

\(iii\) Emergency Information that is provided in the video portion of
programming that is not a regularly scheduled newscast, or a newscast
that interrupts regular programming, must be accompanied with an aural
tone.

\(2\) This rule applies to emergency information primarily intended for
distribution to an audience in the geographic area in which the
emergency is occurring.

\(3\) Video programming distributors must ensure that:

\(i\) Emergency information should not block any closed captioning and
any closed captioning should not block any emergency information
provided by means other than closed captioning; and

\(ii\) Emergency information should not block any video description and
any video description provided should not block any emergency
information provided by means other than video description.

\(c\) Complaint Procedures.

A complaint alleging a violation of this section may be transmitted to
the Commission by any reasonable means, such as letter, facsimile
transmission, telephone (voice/TRS/TTY), Internet e-mail, audio-cassette
recording, and Braille, or some other method that would best accommodate
the complainant\'s disability. The complaint should include the name of
the video programming distributor against whom the complaint is alleged,
the date and time of the omission of emergency information, and the type
of emergency. The Commission will notify the video programming
distributor of the complaint, and the distributor will reply to the
complaint within 30 days.

[^1]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 79.2.

[^2]: *See Closed Captioning and Video Description of Video Programming,
    Implementation of Section 305 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,
    Accessibility of Emergency Programming*, MM Docket No. 95-176, FCC
    00-136, *Second Report and* Order, 15 FCC Rcd 6615 (2000); s*ee
    also, Accessibility of Emergency Programming Rule Requiring OMB
    Approval Effective as of August 29, 2000*, Public Notice, DA
    00-1996, 15 FCC Rcd 15968 (rel. Aug. 31, 2000).

[^3]: *See*, *Implementation of Video Description of Video Programming*,
    MM Docket No. 99-339, *Report and Order*, 15 FCC Rcd 15230, 15251
    (2000), *on recon.*, 16 FCC Rcd 1251 (2001), *appeal pend.*, *Motion
    Picture Association of America et al. v. FCC*, No. 01-1149 (D.C.
    Cir.) (to be argued Sept. 6, 2002); *National Federation of the
    Blind v. FCC*, No. 01-1155 (D.C. Cir.) (to be argued Sept. 6, 2002)
    (consolidated); *see also*, *Amended Emergency Information Rule
    effective as of February 1, 2001,* Public Notice, DA 01-799 (rel.
    Mar. 30, 2001).

[^4]: *See* 47 C.F.R. § 79.2