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 PUBLIC  NOTICE  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  St.,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  News  Media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  TTY:  1-  888-  835-  5322 
 DA  06-  1600 
 Released:  August  7,  2006 

 CLARIFICATION  OF  OBLIGATION  OF  VIDEO  PROGRAMMING  DISTRIBUTORS  TO  MAKE  EMERGENCY  INFORMATION  ACCESSIBLE  TO  PERSONS  WITH 
 HEARING  DISABILITIES  USING  CLOSED  CAPTIONING 

 On  July  20,  2006,  the  Commission  issued  a  Public  Notice  reminding  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  The  Public  Notice  also  addressed  the  impact  of  the  100%  closed  captioning  benchmark  2  on  certain  television  stations  obligations 
 to  make  emergency  information  accessible  pursuant  to  Section  79.2  of  the  Commissions  rules.  3  The  Public  Notice  stated  that  [  g]  iven  the  transition  to  100%  closed  captioning,  which  occurred  on  January  1, 
 2006,  television  stations  that  are  not  permitted  by  Commission  rules  to  count  captions  created  using  the  electronic  newsroom  technique  (ENT)  are  now  required  to  close  caption  all  new  non-  exempt 
 programming,  including  breaking  news  and  emergency  alerts.  In  other  words,  for  these  non-  ENT  stations,  critical  details  of  emergency  information  must  be  closed  captioned.  4 

 We  recognize,  however,  that  in  emergency  situations  it  may  not  be  feasible  for  video  programmers  on  short  notice  to  secure  captioning  resources  and  immediately  provide  closed  captioning.  Moreover,  in 
 those  situations,  we  should  not  place  video  programmers  in  a  position  where  they  are  forced  to  choose  between  broadcasting  emergency  information  and  violating  our  closed  captioning  rules  or  failing  to 
 provide  their  viewers  with  vital  emergency  information.  Accordingly,  we  clarify  in  this  Public  Notice  that  in  evaluating  whether  a  video  programmer  has  complied  with  our  closed  captioning  rules,  we  will  not 
 consider  any  lack  of  captioning  that  results  from  a  de  minimis  or  reasonable  failure  to  caption  emergency  information,  so  long  as  critical  emergency  information  is  provided  through  some  method  of  visual 
 presentation. 

 1  See  Reminder  to  Video  Programming  Distributors  of  Obligation  to  Make  Emergency  Information  Accessible  to 
 Persons  with  Hearing  or  Vision  Disabilities,  Public  Notice,  DA  06-  1483  (July  20,  2006)  (2006  79.  2  PN);  see  generally  47  C.  F.  R.    79.  2  (  Accessibility  of  programming  providing  emergency  information). 

 2  See  47  C.  F.  R.    79.  1(  b)(  1)(  iv)  (requiring  that  all  new  non-  exempt  programming  to  be  closed  captioned). 
 3  2006  79.  2  PN  at  3-  4.  These  television  stations  are  those  that  are  not  permitted  by  Commission  rules  to  count 
 captions  created  using  the  electronic  newsroom  technique  (ENT)  in  meeting  their  closed  captioning  obligations.  See  2006  79.  2  PN  at  3  n.  18. 

 4  2006  79.  2  PN  at  3-  4  (footnotes  omitted;  emphasis  in  original). 
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 Section  79.1(  e)(  10)  of  the  closed  captioning  rules  provides  that  [  i]  n  evaluating  whether  a  video  programming  provider  has  complied  with  the  requirement  that  all  new  non-  exempt  video  programming 
 must  include  closed  captioning,  the  Commission  will  consider  a  showing  that  any  lack  of  captioning  was  de  minimis  and  reasonable  under  the  circumstances.  5  In  this  regard,  the  Commission  has  recognized  that 
 there  may  be  times  when  it  will  be  difficult  for  a  video  programming  provider  to  present  100%  of  its  new  nonexempt  programming  with  captions,  including  situations  involving  the  inability  to  obtain 
 captioning  resources  on  short  notice.  6  Emergency  information  is  the  type  of  information  that  is  typically  not  available  in  advance  and  available  only  on  short  notice  as  contemplated  by  our  rules. 

 Consistent  with  Section  79.1(  e)(  10),  during  an  emergency  situation,  we  will  not  hold  against  a  video  programmer  any  de  minimis  or  reasonable  failure  to  caption  emergency  information  so  long  as  critical 
 emergency  information  is  provided  by  some  other  method  of  visual  presentation.  In  order  to  ensure  that  video  programmers  are  neither  deterred  from  providing  viewers  with  vital  emergency  information  nor  are 
 penalized  for  doing  so,  the  Commission  intends  to  defer  to  the  good  faith  determinations  of  video  programmers  in  this  regard.  Video  programmers  should  assess  whether  they  are  able  to  obtain  captioning 
 resources  on  short  notice,  and,  if  not,  make  good  faith  efforts  to  secure  captioning  resources  and  provide  closed  captioning  within  a  reasonable  period  of  time.  We  note  that  what  is  de  minimis  or  reasonable  may 
 be  affected  by  the  nature  and  extent  of  the  emergency  situation.  For  example,  to  the  extent  that  a  weather  emergency  makes  it  more  difficult  for  video  programmers  to  secure  live  captioning  resources,  a  longer 
 period  of  time  without  captioning  would  be  de  minimis  and  reasonable.  The  Commission  will  not  second-  guess  determinations  made  by  video  programmers  in  emergency  situations  so  long  as  their 
 determinations  were  made  in  good  faith.  Under  such  circumstances,  however,  we  emphasize  that  non-closed  captioned  emergency  information  must  be  made  accessible  by  some  other  visual  presentation 
 method. 
 The  closed  captioning  and  access  to  emergency  information  rules,  and  related  Factsheets  summarizing  these  rules,  are  available  at  the  FCC  Consumer  &  Governmental  Affairs  Bureau's  websites, 
 http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  cgb,  http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  cgb/  consumerfacts/  closedcaption.  html,  and  http://  www.  fcc.  gov/  cgb/  consumerfacts/  emergencyvideo.  html. 

 The  full  text  of  this  document  is  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.  Copies  may  be  purchased  by  contacting  the  FCCs  duplicating  contractor,  Best  Copy  and  Printing,  Inc.,  Portals  II,  445  12th  Street,  SW,  Room  CY-  B402,  Washington  D.  C.  20554,  telephone  1-  800-378- 
 3160,  facsimile  202-  488-  5563,  or  via  e-  mail  www.  bcpiweb.  com. 
 To  request  this  Public  Notice  or  the  rule  in  accessible  formats  for  persons  with  disabilities  (Braille,  large  print,  electronic  files,  audio  format),  send  an  e-  mail  to  fcc504@  fcc.  gov  or  call  the  Consumer  & 
 Governmental  Affairs  Bureau  at  202-  418-  0530  (voice),  202-  418-  0432  (TTY). 
 For  further  information,  please  contact:  Thomas  E.  Chandler,  Chief,  Disability  Rights  Office,  Consumer  &  Governmental  Affairs  Bureau,  (202)  418-  1475  (voice),  (202)  418-  0597  (TTY),  e-  mail 
 thomas.  chandler@  fcc.  gov. 

 5  See  47  C.  F.  R.    79.1(  e)(  10). 
 6  Closed  Captioning  and  Video  Description  of  Video  Programming,  Order  on  Reconsideration,  13  FCC  Rcd  19973, 
 19979,  at  para.  10  (Oct.  2,  1998). 
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