II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5121 

To update the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 

of 2010. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Ms. WARREN, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mr. WYDEN, Ms. DUCKWORTH, and Mrs. FEINSTEIN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To update the 21st Century Communications and Video 

Accessibility Act of 2010. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Communications, Video, and Technology Accessibility 

6 Act of 2022’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—CLOSED CAPTIONING AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION 


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Sec. 101. Definitions. 

Sec. 102. Closed captioning. 

Sec. 103. Audio description. 

Sec. 104. Technical and conforming amendments relating to economic burden. 

Sec. 105. American Sign Language video programming. 

Sec. 106. Internet protocol closed captioning and audio description advisory 

committee. 

TITLE II—VIDEO PLAYBACK APPARATUSES 

Sec. 201. Video playback apparatuses. 

TITLE III—COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES 

Sec. 301. Video conferencing. 

Sec. 302. Relay services. 

Sec. 303. National DeafBlind equipment distribution program. 

Sec. 304. Advanced Communications Services Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 305. Real-time text. 

Sec. 306. Advanced communications services software. 

TITLE IV—EMERGING TECHNOLOGY 

Sec. 401. Emerging technology. 

TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT AND REPORTING 

Sec. 501. Accessibility enforcement. 

Sec. 502. Reports to Congress. 

1 TITLE I—CLOSED CAPTIONING 

2 AND AUDIO DESCRIPTION 

3 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 713(h) of the Commu5 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613(h)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘VIDEO DE8 SCRIPTION’’ and inserting ‘‘AUDIO DESCRIP9 TION’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘video description’’ and in11 serting ‘‘audio description’’; 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para13 graph (6); 


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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(2) LIVE PROGRAMMING.—The term ‘live pro4 gramming’ means video programming published or 

5 exhibited or made available substantially simulta6 neously with its performance. 

7 ‘‘(3) NEAR-LIVE PROGRAMMING.—The term 

8 ‘near-live programming’ means video programming 

9 that is not live programming and is published or ex10 hibited or made available not more than 12 hours 

11 after its performance and recording. 

12 ‘‘(4) PRERECORDED PROGRAMMING.—The term 

13 ‘prerecorded programming’ means video program14 ming that is not live programming or near-live pro15 gramming. 

16 ‘‘(5) USER-GENERATED VIDEO.—The term 

17 ‘user-generated video’ means video programming 

18 that is— 

19 ‘‘(A) made available via a service using 

20 Internet protocol or any successor protocol; 

21 ‘‘(B) created and added to the service by 

22 a user of the service; and 

23 ‘‘(C) not the subject of a contractual ar24 rangement between the user and the service 


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1 that obliges the user to create the programming 

2 specifically for delivery via the service.’’; and 

3 (4) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘means programming’’ and 

5 inserting the following: ‘‘— 

6 ‘‘(A) means— 

7 ‘‘(i) programming’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (A)(i), as so des9 ignated, by striking ‘‘, but not including’’ and 

10 all that follows and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(ii) audiovisual programming made 

13 available via Internet protocol or any suc14 cessor protocol— 

15 ‘‘(I) including— 

16 ‘‘(aa) programming provided 

17 on demand at the request of a 

18 viewer; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) programming 

20 streamed live or at a prescribed 

21 time or times to all or a subset of 

22 viewers; and 

23 ‘‘(II) regardless of whether or not 

24 the programming is generally consid25 ered comparable to programming proVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Nov 21, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5121.IS S5121

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1 vided by a television broadcast station; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) does not include user-generated video 

4 unless the user-generated video is generated by 

5 an entity that also generates video program6 ming that is— 

7 ‘‘(i) not user-generated video in the 

8 ordinary course of its business; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) generated by an entity that earns 

10 more than $1,000,000 in annual revenue 

11 resulting from user-generated videos.’’. 

12 (b) DEFINITION OF ‘‘ACHIEVABLE’’.—Section 716(g) 

13 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 617(g)) 

14 is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

15 striking ‘‘section 718’’ and inserting ‘‘sections 713, 716A, 

16 and 718’’. 

17 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) REPEAL OF DEFINITION OF ‘‘CONSUMER

19 GENERATED MEDIA’’.—Section 3 of the Communica20 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153) is amended— 

21 (A) by striking paragraph (14); and 

22 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (15) 

23 through (59) as paragraphs (14) through (58), 

24 respectively. 

25 (2) OTHER AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (A) Section 271(c)(1)(A) of the Commu2 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 271(c)(1)(A)) 

3 is amended by striking ‘‘section 3(47)(A)’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A) of the paragraph 

5 defining that term in section 3’’. 

6 (B) Section 203(a) of the Rural Elec7 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 924(a)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘section 3(o)’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘section 3’’. 

10 (C) Section 248 of the Television Broad11 casting to Cuba Act (22 U.S.C. 1465ff) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘section 3(c)’’ each place 

13 the term appears and inserting ‘‘section 3’’. 

14 (d) MODERNIZING TITLE OF HEAD OF COMMIS15 SION.—The Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 

16 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) in section 4 (47 U.S.C. 154)— 

18 (A) in subsection (a)— 

19 (i) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(a)’’; 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘chairman’’ and in21 serting ‘‘Chair’’; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(2) Any reference in any law, regulation, docu25 ment, paper, or other record of the United States to 


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1 the chairman or the Chairman of the Commission 

2 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Chair of the 

3 Commission.’’; 

4 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Chair5 man’’ each place the term appears and insert6 ing ‘‘Chair’’; 

7 (C) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘chair8 man’’ each place the term appears and insert9 ing ‘‘Chair’’; and 

10 (D) in subsection (g)(1), by striking 

11 ‘‘chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair’’; 

12 (2) in section 5 (47 U.S.C. 155)— 

13 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘chair14 man’’ each place the term appears and insert15 ing ‘‘Chair’’; and 

16 (B) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Chair17 man’’ each place the term appears and insert18 ing ‘‘Chair’’; 

19 (3) in section 13(c) (47 U.S.C. 163(c)), by 

20 striking ‘‘Chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair’’; 

21 (4) in section 309(j)(8)(G)(iv) (47 U.S.C. 

22 309(j)(8)(G)(iv)), by striking ‘‘Chairman’’ and in23 serting ‘‘Chair’’; 

24 (5) in section 344 (47 U.S.C. 344)— 


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1 (A) in subsection (b)(1), by striking 

2 ‘‘Chairman’’ and inserting ‘‘Chair’’; 

3 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Chair4 man’’ each place the term appears and insert5 ing ‘‘Chair’’; and 

6 (6) in section 410(c) (47 U.S.C. 410(c)), by 

7 striking ‘‘Chairman of the Commission’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘Chair of the Commission’’. 

9 SEC. 102. CLOSED CAPTIONING. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 713 of the Communica11 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 

13 as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 

14 (2) in subsection (c), by striking paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) DEADLINES FOR PROGRAMMING MADE

17 AVAILABLE USING INTERNET PROTOCOL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) REGULATIONS ON CLOSED CAP19 TIONING ON VIDEO PROGRAMMING MADE AVAIL20 ABLE USING INTERNET PROTOCOL OR SUC21 CESSOR PROTOCOL.—Not later than 18 months 

22 after the date of submission of the report to the 

23 Commission required under section 106(f)(1) of 

24 the Communications, Video, and Technology 

25 Accessibility Act of 2022, the Commission shall 


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1 revise its regulations to require the provision, 

2 receipt, and display of closed captioning on 

3 video programming made available using Inter4 net protocol or any successor protocol published 

5 or exhibited after the effective date of the re6 vised regulations. 

7 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE.—The regulations revised 

8 under this paragraph shall include an appro9 priate schedule of deadlines, the latest of which 

10 shall be not later than 6 years after the date of 

11 submission of the report to the Commission re12 quired under section 106(f)(1) of the Commu13 nications, Video, and Technology Accessibility 

14 Act of 2022, for the provision, receipt, and dis15 play of closed captioning on video programming 

16 made available using Internet protocol or any 

17 successor protocol, taking into account whether 

18 the programming— 

19 ‘‘(i) is prerecorded, live, or near-live; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has been made available to view21 ers before the effective date of the revised 

22 regulations; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) was live or near-live at the time 

24 it was initially made available. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS FOR REGULA2 TIONS.—The regulations revised under this 

3 paragraph— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) define categories of entities 

6 engaged in making available video 

7 programming; and 

8 ‘‘(II) apportion the responsibil9 ities for the provision, quality, pass10 through, and rendering of closed cap11 tions among the entities defined by 

12 the Commission under subclause (I)— 

13 ‘‘(aa) to ensure full access 

14 by viewers via all entities and 

15 combinations of entities that 

16 make video programming avail17 able to viewers; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) to ensure that the reg19 ulations can be enforced effec20 tively against responsible parties; 

21 ‘‘(ii) shall require that an entity en22 gaged in making available user-generated 

23 video, whether or not the entity is also en24 gaged in making available video that is not 


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1 user-generated video, provide easy-to-use 

2 authoring tools that— 

3 ‘‘(I) permit users of the entity to 

4 add closed captions; and 

5 ‘‘(II) conspicuously prompt users 

6 of the entity to use the tools; 

7 ‘‘(iii) shall not distinguish between 

8 full-length programming and video clips; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(iv) for the purposes of determining 

11 closed captioning obligations under this 

12 section and assessing compliance with the 

13 regulations of the Commission governing 

14 the quality of closed captioning under 

15 paragraphs (j), (k), and (m) of section 

16 79.1 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula17 tions, or any successor regulation gov18 erning closed captioning quality, treat any 

19 programming that was live programming 

20 or near-live programming at the time that 

21 it was initially made available to viewers as 

22 prerecorded programming if it is again 

23 made available to viewers more than 24 

24 hours after its initial availability.’’; 


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1 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(d) CAPTION QUALITY UPDATES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years 

5 after the date of enactment of the Communications, 

6 Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 2022, the 

7 Commission shall revise its regulations to extend the 

8 requirements for the quality of closed captions under 

9 paragraphs (j), (k), and (m) of section 79.1 of title 

10 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

11 regulation, to all programming made available via 

12 Internet protocol or any successor protocol. 

13 ‘‘(2) REGULAR UPDATES.—Not later than 4 

14 years after the date of enactment of the Commu15 nications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 

16 2022, and every 4 years thereafter, the Commission 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) update its regulations pertaining to 

19 the quality of closed captions as necessary to 

20 reflect technological and methodological ad21 vances, to the extent deployment of such ad22 vances will improve the quality of closed cap23 tions; and 

24 ‘‘(B) take any action, including enforce25 ment, necessary to ensure compliance with its 


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1 regulations pertaining to the quality of closed 

2 captions.’’; and 

3 (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

4 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

5 by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub6 sections (b) and (c)’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the pro8 vider or owner of such programming’’ and in9 serting ‘‘an entity responsible for publishing, 

10 exhibiting, or making available such program11 ming’’; and 

12 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) an entity responsible for publishing, exhib15 iting, or making available video programming may 

16 petition the Commission for an exemption from the 

17 requirements of subsection (b) or (c), and the Com18 mission may grant the petition upon a showing that 

19 the requirements would be economically burdensome. 

20 The Commission shall act to grant or deny any such 

21 petition, in whole or in part, not later than 6 months 

22 after the Commission receives the petition, unless 

23 the Commission finds that an extension of the 6- 

24 month period is necessary to determine whether the 

25 requirements are economically burdensome.’’. 


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1 (b) ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORICAL EX2 EMPTIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact3 ment of this Act, the Federal Communications Commis4 sion shall reassess the second sentence of paragraph 

5 (a)(10) and reassess paragraph (d) of section 79.1 of title 

6 47, Code of Federal Regulations, to eliminate categorical 

7 exemptions that impede access to video programming, are 

8 outdated, or are no longer warranted under subsection 

9 (e)(1) of section 713 of the Communications Act of 1934 

10 (47 U.S.C. 613), as so redesignated by subsection (a) of 

11 this section. 

12 SEC. 103. AUDIO DESCRIPTION. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (g) of section 713 of 

14 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613), as re15 designated by section 102, is amended— 

16 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘VIDEO’’ and in17 serting ‘‘AUDIO’’; and 

18 (2) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) and 

19 inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) REVISION TO REINSTATED AUDIO DE21 SCRIPTION REGULATIONS FOR PROGRAMMING PUB22 LISHED OR EXHIBITED ON TELEVISION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

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1 bility Act of 2022, the Commission shall revise 

2 section 79.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regu3 lations (relating to audio description of video 

4 programming) in accordance with subparagraph 

5 (B). 

6 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

7 revised under subparagraph (A)— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall apply to all video program9 ming published or exhibited on television 

10 after the effective date of the revised regu11 lations; 

12 ‘‘(ii) shall include an appropriate 

13 schedule of deadlines, the latest of which 

14 shall be not later than 5 years after the ef15 fective date of the revised regulations, for 

16 the provision, receipt, and performance of 

17 audio described programming published or 

18 exhibited on television, taking into account 

19 whether the programming— 

20 ‘‘(I) is prerecorded, live, or near21 live; 

22 ‘‘(II) has been published or ex23 hibited prior to the effective date of 

24 the revised regulations; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) was live or near-live at the 

2 time it was initially published or ex3 hibited; 

4 ‘‘(iii) shall provide that audio de5 scribed programming published or exhib6 ited on television shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) be labeled and searchable or 

8 otherwise easily discoverable through 

9 navigation devices, apparatuses, appli10 cations, and other methods by which 

11 the programming is published or ex12 hibited; and 

13 ‘‘(II) include a recognizable tone, 

14 on all audio channels in the same lan15 guages as the audio description 

16 streams, at the beginning of the pro17 gramming to indicate that audio de18 scription is available; 

19 ‘‘(iv) shall provide that audio descrip20 tion of video programming published or ex21 hibited on television shall be made avail22 able to the public on an audio channel sole23 ly dedicated to audio description, so long 

24 as it is achievable (as defined in section 

25 716); 


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1 ‘‘(v) shall require any entity involved 

2 in the publishing or exhibiting of audio de3 scribed programming published or exhib4 ited on television to provide contact infor5 mation, consistent with sections 79.1(i) 

6 and 79.4(c)(2)(iii) of title 47, Code of Fed7 eral Regulations, or any successor regula8 tions, for users to report problems related 

9 to audio description; and 

10 ‘‘(vi) for the purposes of determining 

11 audio description obligations under this 

12 paragraph and assessing compliance with 

13 regulations adopted to assess the quality of 

14 audio description under paragraph (4), 

15 shall treat any programming that was live 

16 or near-live programming at the time of its 

17 initial airing as prerecorded programming 

18 if it is re-exhibited more than 24 hours 

19 after its initial airing. 

20 ‘‘(3) AUDIO DESCRIPTION ON VIDEO PROGRAM21 MING MADE AVAILABLE VIA INTERNET PROTOCOL.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

23 after the date of submission of the report to the 

24 Commission required under subsection 

25 106(f)(2) of the Communications, Video, and 


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1 Technology Accessibility Act of 2022, the Com2 mission shall revise its regulations to require 

3 the provision, receipt, and performance of audio 

4 description on video programming made avail5 able using Internet protocol or any successor 

6 protocol published or exhibited after the effec7 tive date of the revised regulations. 

8 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

9 revised under subparagraph (A)— 

10 ‘‘(i) shall ensure that all video pro11 gramming made available using Internet 

12 protocol or any successor protocol is fully 

13 accessible through the provision of audio 

14 description; 

15 ‘‘(ii) shall include an appropriate 

16 schedule of deadlines, the latest of which 

17 shall be not later than 5 years after the ef18 fective date of the revised regulations, for 

19 the provision, receipt, and performance of 

20 audio described programming made avail21 able using Internet protocol or any suc22 cessor protocol, taking into account wheth23 er the programming— 

24 ‘‘(I) is prerecorded, live, or near25 live; 


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1 ‘‘(II) has been made available to 

2 users prior to the effective date of the 

3 revised regulations; and 

4 ‘‘(III) was live or near-live at the 

5 time it was initially made available; 

6 ‘‘(iii) shall— 

7 ‘‘(I) define categories of entities 

8 engaged in making available video 

9 programming using Internet protocol 

10 or any successor protocol; and 

11 ‘‘(II) apportion the responsibil12 ities for the provision, quality, pass13 through, and performance of audio de14 scription among the entities identified 

15 by the Commission under subclause 

16 (I)— 

17 ‘‘(aa) to ensure full access 

18 by viewers; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) to ensure that the reg20 ulations can be enforced effec21 tively against responsible parties; 

22 ‘‘(iv) shall require that an entity en23 gaged in making available user-generated 

24 video, whether or not the entity is also en25 gaged in making available video that is not 


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1 user-generated video, provides easy-to-use 

2 authoring tools that— 

3 ‘‘(I) permit users of the entity to 

4 add audio description; and 

5 ‘‘(II) conspicuously prompt users 

6 of the entity to use the tools; 

7 ‘‘(v) shall provide that audio described 

8 programming made available using Inter9 net protocol or any successor protocol 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) be labeled and searchable or 

12 otherwise easily discoverable through 

13 navigation devices, apparatuses, appli14 cations, and other methods on which 

15 the programming is made available; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) include a recognizable tone, 

18 on all audio channels in the same lan19 guages as the audio description 

20 streams, at the beginning of the pro21 gramming to indicate that audio de22 scription is available; 

23 ‘‘(vi) shall provide that audio descrip24 tion of video programming made available 

25 using Internet protocol or any successor 


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1 protocol shall be provided on an audio 

2 track solely dedicated to audio description, 

3 so long as it is achievable (as defined in 

4 section 716); 

5 ‘‘(vii) shall require entities engaged in 

6 making available audio described program7 ming using Internet protocol or any suc8 cessor protocol to provide contact informa9 tion, consistent with sections 79.1(i) and 

10 79.4(c)(2)(iii) of title 47, Code of Federal 

11 Regulations, or any successor regulations, 

12 for users to report problems related to 

13 audio description; and 

14 ‘‘(viii) for the purposes of determining 

15 audio description obligations under this 

16 paragraph and assessing compliance with 

17 regulations adopted to assess the quality of 

18 audio description under paragraph (4), 

19 shall treat any programming that was live 

20 or near-live programming at the time it 

21 was initially made available as prerecorded 

22 programming if it is made available more 

23 than 24 hours after it was initially made 

24 available. 

25 ‘‘(4) AUDIO DESCRIPTION QUALITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

2 after the date of submission of the report to the 

3 Commission required under subsection 

4 106(f)(2) of the Communications, Video, and 

5 Technology Accessibility Act of 2022, the Com6 mission shall adopt regulations to ensure the 

7 quality of audio description on video program8 ming, including video programming published 

9 or exhibited on television or made available via 

10 Internet protocol or any successor protocol, as 

11 necessary to afford access to video program12 ming that is functionally equivalent to the ac13 cess provided by the visual components of the 

14 programming. 

15 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

16 adopted under subparagraph (A) shall require 

17 that audio description— 

18 ‘‘(i) sufficiently convey key elements 

19 of the visual component; 

20 ‘‘(ii) be appropriately voiced, consid21 ering whether the use of synthetic voices is 

22 permissible and if so, under what cir23 cumstances; and 

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1 ing and encoding of the non-description 

2 audio track of the programming. 

3 ‘‘(5) AUDIO DESCRIPTION EXEMPTIONS.—Not4 withstanding paragraphs (2) and (3)— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Commission may exempt by regu6 lation from the requirements under paragraphs 

7 (2) and (3) programs, classes of programs, or 

8 services for which the Commission has deter9 mined that the provision of audio description 

10 would be economically burdensome to an entity 

11 responsible for publishing or exhibiting or mak12 ing available such programming; and 

13 ‘‘(B) an entity responsible for publishing 

14 or exhibiting or making available video pro15 gramming may petition the Commission for an 

16 exemption from the requirements under para17 graphs (2) and (3), and the Commission may 

18 grant the exemption upon a showing that the 

19 requirement to include audio description would 

20 be economically burdensome. The Commission 

21 shall act to grant or deny any such petition, in 

22 whole or in part, not later than 6 months after 

23 the Commission receives the petition, unless the 

24 Commission finds that an extension of the 6- 

25 month period is necessary to determine whether 


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1 the requirements are economically burden2 some.’’. 

3 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

4 Title III of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

5 301 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 303 (47 U.S.C. 303)— 

7 (A) in subsection (u)— 

8 (i) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

9 (I) by striking ‘‘video descrip10 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘audio descrip11 tion’’; and 

12 (II) by striking ‘‘section 713(f)’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘section 713(g)’’; and 

14 (ii) by moving the left margin of that 

15 subsection and each paragraph, subpara16 graph, and clause therein 2 ems to the left; 

17 and 

18 (B) in subsection (z)(1), by striking ‘‘video 

19 description’’ each place the term appears and 

20 inserting ‘‘audio description’’; and 

21 (2) in section 330(b) (47 U.S.C. 330(b)), by 

22 striking ‘‘video description’’ each place the term ap23 pears and inserting ‘‘audio description’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RE2 LATING TO ECONOMIC BURDEN. 

3 Subsection (f) of section 713 of the Communications 

4 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613), as redesignated by section 

5 102, is amended— 

6 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘The term ‘undue burden’ 

8 means’’ and inserting ‘‘For purposes of this 

9 section, the term ‘economically burdensome’ 

10 means’’; 

11 (B) by inserting ‘‘or audio description’’ 

12 after ‘‘closed captions’’; 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘this paragraph’’ and in14 serting ‘‘subsections (e) and (g)(5)’’; and 

15 (D) by striking ‘‘result in an undue eco16 nomic burden’’ and inserting ‘‘be economically 

17 burdensome’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or audio de19 scription’’ after ‘‘closed captions’’. 

20 SEC. 105. AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VIDEO PROGRAM21 MING. 

22 Section 713 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

23 U.S.C. 613) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subsections (i) (as redesig25 nated by section 102) and (j) as subsections (j) and 

26 (k), respectively; and 


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1 (2) by inserting before subsection (j), as so re2 designated, the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION

4 OF VIDEO PROGRAMMING.—Not later than 2 years after 

5 the date of submission of the report to the Commission 

6 required under section 106(f)(3) of the Communications, 

7 Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 2022, the Com8 mission shall prescribe regulations to— 

9 ‘‘(1) establish uniform standards for the display 

10 and visibility of American Sign Language interpreta11 tion where it is provided for video programming, in12 cluding standards for ensuring that an interpreter is 

13 visible on the viewer’s screen during the program14 ming; and 

15 ‘‘(2) ensure that all video programming pub16 lished or exhibited on television or made available 

17 via Internet protocol or any successor protocol that 

18 includes American Sign Language interpretation 

19 complies with the uniform standards established 

20 under subparagraph (A) to the extent that compli21 ance with such standards is achievable (as defined in 

22 section 716) by each entity responsible for delivering 

23 the programming.’’. 


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1 SEC. 106. INTERNET PROTOCOL CLOSED CAPTIONING AND 

2 AUDIO DESCRIPTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi5 sory Committee’’ means the Closed Captioning and 

6 Audio Description Advisory Committee established 

7 under subsection (b). 

8 (2) CHAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the 

9 Chair of the Commission. 

10 (3) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

11 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

12 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall establish 

14 an advisory committee to be known as the ‘‘Closed Cap15 tioning and Audio Description Advisory Committee’’. 

16 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—As soon as practicable after the 

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall appoint indi18 viduals who have the technical knowledge and engineering 

19 expertise to serve on the Advisory Committee in the fulfill20 ment of its duties, including the following: 

21 (1) Representatives of entities engaged in mak22 ing available video programming internet protocol or 

23 any successor protocol, or a national organization or 

24 organization representing such entities. 

25 (2) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 

26 manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 


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1 capabilities for the provision of video programming, 

2 including programming delivered using internet pro3 tocol or successor protocols, or a national organiza4 tion representing such vendors, developers, or manu5 facturers. 

6 (3) Representatives of manufacturers of con7 sumer electronics or information technology equip8 ment used in the delivery of video programming, in9 cluding programming delivered via internet protocol 

10 or successor protocols, or a national organization 

11 representing such manufacturers. 

12 (4) Individuals with expertise generating user13 generated video, or a national organization rep14 resenting such individuals. 

15 (5) Representatives of national organizations 

16 representing accessibility advocates, including people 

17 with disabilities and older Americans. 

18 (6) Representatives of service agencies engaged 

19 in the provision of captioning and audio description 

20 for video programming, including programming de21 livered via internet protocol or successor protocols. 

22 (7) Academic experts or representatives of re23 search institutes with expertise on captioning and 

24 audio description. 


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1 (8) Individuals with technical and engineering 

2 expertise, as the Chair determines appropriate. 

3 (d) COMMISSION OVERSIGHT.—The Chair shall ap4 point a member of the Commission’s staff to moderate and 

5 direct the work of the Advisory Committee. 

6 (e) TECHNICAL STAFF.—The Chair shall appoint a 

7 member of the Commission’s technical staff to provide 

8 technical assistance to the Advisory Committee. 

9 (f) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

10 (1) CLOSED CAPTIONING REPORT.—Not later 

11 than 1 year after the date of the first meeting of the 

12 Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee shall 

13 develop and submit to the Commission a report that 

14 includes the following: 

15 (A) A recommended schedule of deadlines 

16 for the provision of closed captioning on video 

17 programming made available via internet pro18 tocol or any successor protocol. 

19 (B) Identification of the protocols, tech20 nical capabilities, and technical procedures 

21 needed to permit responsible entities to reliably 

22 provide, receive, and display closed captions of 

23 video programming made available via using 

24 internet protocol or any successor protocol. 


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1 (C) Identification of additional protocols, 

2 technical capabilities, and technical procedures 

3 beyond those available as of the date of enact4 ment of this Act needed for the provision, re5 ceipt, and display of closed captions of video 

6 programming made available using internet pro7 tocol or any successor protocol. 

8 (D) A recommendation for technical stand9 ards to address the protocols, capabilities, and 

10 procedures identified under subparagraph (B). 

11 (E) A recommendation for any regulations 

12 that may be necessary to ensure compatibility 

13 between video programming made available 

14 using internet protocol or any successor pro15 tocol and apparatuses and navigation devices 

16 capable of receiving and displaying such pro17 gramming in order to facilitate access to closed 

18 captions. 

19 (F) An identification of attributes of easy20 to-use authoring tools that can be used by view21 ers to add closed captions to video program22 ming made available using internet protocol or 

23 any successor protocol. 

24 (G) An identification of the categories of 

25 entities involved in the online delivery of video 


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1 programming, along with a recommendation on 

2 how to apportion the responsibilities for the 

3 provision, quality, pass-through, and display of 

4 closed captions among those entities to ensure 

5 full access by viewers. 

6 (H) A recommendation for best practices 

7 for ensuring that programming that was live 

8 programming or near-live programming at the 

9 time that it was initially made available to view10 ers is subsequently made available at the level 

11 of quality required for prerecorded program12 ming. 

13 (I) A recommendation for defining metrics 

14 and thresholds to be used for measuring the ac15 curacy, synchronicity, completeness, and place16 ment of closed captions for live programming as 

17 necessary to afford access to video program18 ming that is functionally equivalent to the ac19 cess provided by the audio track, with minimum 

20 thresholds that are neutral to different modali21 ties for creating closed captions. 

22 (2) AUDIO DESCRIPTION REPORT.—Not later 

23 than 1 year after the date of the first meeting of the 

24 Advisory Committee, the Advisory Committee shall 


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1 develop and submit to the Commission a report that 

2 includes the following: 

3 (A) A recommended schedule of deadlines 

4 for the provision of audio description on video 

5 programming made available using internet pro6 tocol or any successor protocol. 

7 (B) Identification of the protocols, tech8 nical capabilities, and technical procedures 

9 needed to permit responsible entities to reliably 

10 provide, receive, and perform audio description 

11 of video programming made available via inter12 net protocol or any successor protocol. 

13 (C) Identification of additional protocols, 

14 technical capabilities, and technical procedures 

15 beyond those available as of the date of enact16 ment of this Act needed for the delivery of 

17 audio description of video programming. 

18 (D) A recommendation for technical stand19 ards to address the protocols, capabilities, and 

20 procedures identified under subparagraph (B). 

21 (E) A recommendation for any regulations 

22 that may be necessary to ensure compatibility 

23 between video programming made available 

24 using internet protocol or any successor pro25 tocol and apparatuses and navigation devices 


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1 capable of receiving and displaying such pro2 gramming in order to facilitate access to audio 

3 description. 

4 (F) A recommendation for standards, pro5 tocols, and procedures to ensure that audio de6 scribed video programming is labeled and 

7 searchable or otherwise easily discoverable 

8 through navigation devices, apparatuses, appli9 cations, and other methods on which such pro10 gramming is published or exhibited or made 

11 available. 

12 (G) A recommendation for the achievability 

13 of making audio description available on a dedi14 cated audio channel. 

15 (H) An identification of the categories of 

16 entities engaged in the online delivery of video 

17 programming, along with a recommendation on 

18 how to apportion the responsibilities for the 

19 provision, quality, pass-through, and perform20 ance of audio description among those entities 

21 to ensure full access by viewers. 

22 (I) A recommendation for defining metrics 

23 to be used for measuring the quality of audio 

24 description as necessary to afford access to 


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1 video programming that is functionally equiva2 lent to the access provided visually. 

3 (J) An identification of easy-to-use author4 ing tools that can be used by viewers to add 

5 audio description to video programming made 

6 available via internet protocol or any successor 

7 protocol. 

8 (3) AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE VIDEO PRO9 GRAMMING REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of the first meeting of the Advisory Com11 mittee, the Advisory Committee shall develop and 

12 submit to the Commission a report that includes a 

13 recommendation for standards for the display and 

14 visibility of American Sign Language interpretation 

15 where it is provided for video programming, includ16 ing standards for ensuring that an interpreter is 

17 visible on a viewer’s screen during the programming. 

18 (4) CONSIDERATION OF WORK BY STANDARDS19 SETTING ORGANIZATIONS.—The recommendations of 

20 the Advisory Committee shall, insofar as possible, in21 corporate standards, protocols, and procedures that 

22 have been adopted by recognized industry standards23 setting organizations for each of the purposes de24 scribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3). 

25 (g) MEETINGS.— 


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1 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 

2 the Advisory Committee shall take place not later 

3 than 45 days after the date on which the Chair has 

4 appointed all the members of the Advisory Com5 mittee under subsection (c). 

6 (2) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meet7 ing, the Advisory Committee shall meet at the call 

8 of the Chair. 

9 (3) NOTICE; OPEN MEETINGS.—Any meeting 

10 held by the Advisory Committee— 

11 (A) shall be noticed not later than 14 days 

12 before the meeting; and 

13 (B) shall be open to the public. 

14 (h) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 

15 (1) QUORUM.—The presence of one-third of the 

16 members of the Advisory Committee shall constitute 

17 a quorum for conducting the business of the Advi18 sory Committee. 

19 (2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advisory 

20 Committee in carrying out its functions, the Chair 

21 may establish appropriate subcommittees composed 

22 of members of the Advisory Committee and other 

23 subject matter experts. 


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1 (3) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL RULES.—The 

2 Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 

3 rules as needed. 

4 (i) INAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM5 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

6 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to the Advisory 

7 Committee or the activities of the Advisory Committee. 

8 TITLE II—VIDEO PLAYBACK 

9 APPARATUSES 

10 SEC. 201. VIDEO PLAYBACK APPARATUSES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 303 of the Communica12 tions Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 303) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (z)— 

14 (A) by adjusting the margins two ems to 

15 the left; 

16 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘video 

17 description’’ each place it appears and inserting 

18 ‘‘audio description’’; and 

19 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘available to’’ and in21 serting the following: ‘‘available— 

22 ‘‘(A) to’’; 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so des24 ignated— 

25 (I) by striking ‘‘or render’’; and 


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1 (II) by striking ‘‘audible.’’ and 

2 inserting the following: ‘‘audible, 

3 which— 

4 ‘‘(i) shall require encoding closed cap5 tions and audio description data along with 

6 audio and video transmission in a format 

7 that can be adjusted and rendered by the 

8 consumer equipment consistent with the 

9 requirements of subsection (cc); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) does not include merely ren11 dering closed captions or audio description 

12 into visual or aural forms on the source de13 vice; and’’; and 

14 (iii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(B) to enable the activation of closed cap17 tions, audio description, and emergency infor18 mation on the consumer equipment.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (aa)— 

20 (A) by adjusting the margins two ems to 

21 the left; 

22 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘transmitted in digital 

24 format’’ and inserting ‘‘made available’’; 

25 and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘or any successor 

2 protocol’’ after ‘‘protocol’’; 

3 (C) in paragraph (2), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (D) by striking paragraph (3); and 

6 (E) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

7 paragraph (3); 

8 (3) in subsection (bb)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (2); 

12 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

13 paragraph (2); and 

14 (D) in paragraph (2), as redesignated, by 

15 adjusting the margins two ems to the left; and 

16 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(cc) Require for all digital apparatus covered under 

18 subsection (aa) and navigation devices covered under sub19 section (bb) manufactured or imported into the United 

20 States that each apparatus or device— 

21 ‘‘(1) provides access to closed captioning activa22 tion by— 

23 ‘‘(A) if the apparatus or device is con24 trolled by a physical remote control included 

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1 viding a tactilely identifiable, clearly labeled, 

2 and dedicated button on the remote control to 

3 activate and deactivate closed captions of at 

4 least similar size to other buttons on the remote 

5 control; and 

6 ‘‘(B) if the apparatus or device is con7 trolled by means other than a remote control, 

8 providing a prominently displayed, easily identi9 fiable, accessible, and dedicated button, key, or 

10 icon to activate and deactivate closed captions; 

11 ‘‘(2) provides access to audio description activa12 tion by— 

13 ‘‘(A) if the apparatus or device is con14 trolled by a physical remote control included 

15 with the apparatus or device at the time of pur16 chase, providing a tactilely identifiable, clearly 

17 labeled, and dedicated button on the remote 

18 control to activate and deactivate audio descrip19 tion of at least similar size to other buttons on 

20 the remote control; and 

21 ‘‘(B) if the apparatus or device is con22 trolled by means other than a remote control, 

23 providing a prominently displayed, easily identi24 fiable, accessible, and dedicated button, key, or 


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1 icon to activate and deactivate audio descrip2 tion; 

3 ‘‘(3) provides access to closed captioning display 

4 settings, including the technical capabilities set forth 

5 in section 79.103(c) of title 47, Code of Federal 

6 Regulations, or any successor regulation, and audio 

7 description performance settings, including the capa8 bility to adjust the relative volumes of audio descrip9 tion and the audio track of a program, by— 

10 ‘‘(A) if the apparatus or device is con11 trolled by a physical remote control included 

12 with the apparatus or device at the time of pur13 chase, providing a tactilely identifiable button, 

14 clearly labeled, and dedicated button on the re15 mote control— 

16 ‘‘(i) to permit the user to change 

17 closed captioning and audio description 

18 settings that permits previewing the set19 tings while leaving the underlying pro20 gramming visible and audible; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) that is of at least similar size to 

22 other buttons on the remote control; and 

23 ‘‘(B) if the apparatus or device is con24 trolled by means other than a remote control, 

25 providing a dedicated mechanism that permits 


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1 the user to change closed captioning and audio 

2 description settings that— 

3 ‘‘(i) is displayed proximately to the 

4 video playback interface; 

5 ‘‘(ii) is easily discoverable; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) permits previewing the settings 

7 while leaving the underlying programming 

8 visible and audible; 

9 ‘‘(4) provides a user with a prompt to modify 

10 closed caption activation and display settings and 

11 audio description activation and performance set12 tings required under paragraphs (1) through (3) 

13 upon initial power-on or upon a reset to factory set14 tings of the apparatus or device; 

15 ‘‘(5) ensures that closed caption activation and 

16 display settings and audio description activation and 

17 performance settings required under paragraphs (1) 

18 through (3) persist across all video playback 

19 functionality on the apparatus or device, including in 

20 applications or other software or plug-ins added by 

21 the user after the sale of the apparatus or device, 

22 and after powering off or restarting the apparatus 

23 or device, until a user changes the settings or the 

24 apparatus or device is reset to factory default set25 tings by the user; and 


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1 ‘‘(6) provides the necessary hardware and soft2 ware to achieve compatibility with existing periph3 eral devices or specialized customer premises equip4 ment commonly used by individuals with disabilities 

5 to achieve access, including refreshable braille dis6 plays, sip and puff devices, and hearing aids.’’. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—Not later than 

8 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

9 Federal Communications Commission shall prescribe such 

10 regulations as are necessary to implement the amend11 ments made by subsection (a). 

12 TITLE III—COMMUNICATIONS 

13 SERVICES 

14 SEC. 301. VIDEO CONFERENCING. 

15 The Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 

16 seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) in section 3 (47 U.S.C. 153), as amended 

18 by section 101— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking 

20 ‘‘interoperable’’; 

21 (B) by striking paragraph (26), as so re22 designated by section 101; 

23 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (27) 

24 through (57), as so redesignated by section 


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1 101, as paragraphs (26) through (56), respec2 tively; and 

3 (D) by inserting after paragraph (56), as 

4 so redesignated by subparagraph (C), the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(57) VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICE.—The 

7 term ‘video conferencing service’ means a service 

8 that provides real-time video communications, in9 cluding audio, to enable users to share information 

10 of the user’s choosing.’’; and 

11 (2) in section 716(e) (47 U.S.C. 617(e)), by 

12 adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) REVISION OF REGULATIONS; VIDEO CON14 FERENCING SERVICES.—Not later than 18 months 

15 after the date on which the Advanced Communica16 tions Services Advisory Committee submits the re17 port required under section 304(f)(1) of the Commu18 nications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 

19 2022, the Commission shall revise the regulations 

20 promulgated under this subsection to— 

21 ‘‘(A) require that all obligations applicable 

22 to advanced communications services, and 

23 equipment used for advanced communications 

24 services, extend to video conferencing services 


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1 and equipment used for video conferencing serv2 ices; 

3 ‘‘(B) require that all advanced communica4 tions services and equipment capable of pro5 viding or enabling video conferencing services— 

6 ‘‘(i) have built-in closed captioning 

7 functionality using automatic speech rec8 ognition or similar or successor tech9 nologies; 

10 ‘‘(ii) implement application program11 ming interfaces or similar technical mecha12 nisms to allow the interconnection of, and 

13 achieve compatibility with, assistive tech14 nologies and services, existing peripheral 

15 devices, and specialized customer premises 

16 equipment commonly used by individuals 

17 with disabilities to achieve access, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(I) third-party captioning serv20 ices; 

21 ‘‘(II) third-party video inter22 preting services; 

23 ‘‘(III) forms of telecommuni24 cations relay services that have been 


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1 approved by the Commission under 

2 section 225; 

3 ‘‘(IV) screen-readers for all user 

4 interface elements; and 

5 ‘‘(V) refreshable braille displays 

6 and other devices used for the tactile 

7 conveyance of textual information; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(iii) enable users and telecommuni10 cations relay service communications as11 sistants to control the activation and de-ac12 tivation, and customize the display, of cap13 tions, video interpreters, and communica14 tions assistants independently from hosts 

15 of video conferencing sessions; and 

16 ‘‘(C) adopt quality requirements for built17 in closed captioning functionality to facilitate 

18 effective communication under subparagraph 

19 (B)(i).’’. 

20 SEC. 302. RELAY SERVICES. 

21 The Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et 

22 seq.), as amended by this Act, is amended— 

23 (1) in section 225 (47 U.S.C. 225)— 

24 (A) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

2 and (3) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respec3 tively; 

4 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) COMMUNICATION FACILITATOR.—The term 

7 ‘communication facilitator’ means a skilled user of 

8 American Sign Language who— 

9 ‘‘(A) copies American Sign Language from 

10 a caller, as shown on a videophone screen; and 

11 ‘‘(B) provides visual information to a 

12 DeafBlind person through close vision or tactile 

13 American Sign Language. 

14 ‘‘(3) DIRECT VIDEO CALLING SERVICE.—The 

15 term ‘direct video calling service’ means telephone 

16 customer support using one-to-one video communica17 tion that— 

18 ‘‘(A) is facilitated by a contact center rep19 resentative; and 

20 ‘‘(B) enables a real-time conversation to 

21 occur directly between not fewer than 2 parties 

22 using American Sign Language— 

23 ‘‘(i) not less than 1 of the parties to 

24 which is a governmental agency, business, 


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1 non-profit organization, emergency author2 ity, or other enterprise; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) not less than 1 of the parties to 

4 which— 

5 ‘‘(I) is deaf, hard of hearing, or 

6 DeafBlind; or 

7 ‘‘(II) has a speech disability or 

8 auditory processing disorder.’’; and 

9 (iii) by striking paragraph (5), as so 

10 redesignated, and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(5) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERV12 ICES.—The term ‘telecommunications relay services’ 

13 means— 

14 ‘‘(A) transmission services that provide the 

15 ability for an individual who is deaf, hard of 

16 hearing, or DeafBlind, or who has a speech dis17 ability or an auditory processing disorder, to 

18 engage in communication by wire or radio with 

19 1 or more individuals, in a manner that is func20 tionally equivalent to the ability of a hearing in21 dividual who does not have a speech disability 

22 to communicate using voice communication 

23 services or advanced communications services 

24 by wire or radio; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) other services facilitating functionally 

2 equivalent communication by wire or radio for 

3 an individual who is deaf, hard of hearing, or 

4 DeafBlind, or who has a speech disability or an 

5 auditory processing disorder, including the pro6 vision of communication facilitators for an indi7 vidual who is DeafBlind and the provision of di8 rect video calling services for a call center to fa9 cilitate point-to-point communication in Amer10 ican Sign Language between government agen11 cies, businesses, emergency authorities, or other 

12 enterprises and users of American Sign Lan13 guage.’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (d), by adding at the end 

15 the following: 

16 ‘‘(4) AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE ACCESS TO

17 EMERGENCY SERVICES; COMMUNICATION

18 FACILITATORS; DIRECT VIDEO CALLING SERVICES.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

20 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

21 the Commission shall promulgate such regula22 tions as are necessary to— 

23 ‘‘(i) define as eligible for relay service 

24 support from the fund described in section 

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1 eral Regulations, as in effect on that date 

2 of enactment— 

3 ‘‘(I) programs that are approved 

4 by the Commission to support direct 

5 video calling services, including the 

6 use of those services to access emer7 gency authorities; 

8 ‘‘(II) programs that are approved 

9 by the Commission to support the 

10 provision of communication 

11 facilitators; and 

12 ‘‘(III) programs that are de13 signed, in accordance with subpara14 graph (B), to improve access to emer15 gency authorities by users of video 

16 relay services and direct video calling 

17 services to achieve the objectives de18 scribed in clause (ii); and 

19 ‘‘(ii) achieve full, equal, and direct ac20 cess to public safety answering points, as 

21 that term is defined in section 222(h), and 

22 other local emergency authorities, includ23 ing emergency authorities responding to 

24 wireless calls made by dialing 9–1–1, by 

25 individuals who— 


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1 ‘‘(I) are deaf, hard of hearing, or 

2 DeafBlind, or who have a speech dis3 ability; and 

4 ‘‘(II) use American Sign Lan5 guage. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The regulations de7 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i)(III) shall, at a 

8 minimum, require that users communicating by 

9 means of a video relay service, as that term is 

10 defined in section 64.601 of title 47, Code of 

11 Federal Regulations, or any successor regula12 tion, shall be capable of using native dialing or 

13 1-step access on a mobile phone so that such 

14 communication— 

15 ‘‘(i) includes the location information 

16 of the user, to be transmitted and delivered 

17 immediate and directly to the applicable 

18 emergency authority; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) is received by the applicable 

20 emergency authority with the same speed 

21 and efficiency as a voice call made by dial22 ing 9–1–1. 

23 ‘‘(5) REASSESSMENT OF AVAILABLE SERVICES

24 AND MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Not later than 4 years 

25 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 


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1 once every 4 years thereafter, the Commission shall, 

2 as necessary to respond to evolving communication 

3 technologies, reassess and, as necessary, update the 

4 regulations prescribed under this subsection to en5 sure that those regulations effectively satisfy the 

6 communication needs of individuals with disabilities 

7 who are covered by this Act, including by— 

8 ‘‘(A) assessing the need for new modes of 

9 telecommunications relay services; 

10 ‘‘(B) increasing and improving the manda11 tory minimum standards to ensure the quality 

12 of telecommunications relay services; and 

13 ‘‘(C) assessing the impact that evolving 

14 communication technologies have on the privacy 

15 of users of telecommunications relay services.’’; 

16 and 

17 (2) by inserting after section 715 (47 U.S.C. 

18 616) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 715A. VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICES’ SUPPORT OF 

20 RELAY SERVICES. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘TRS 

22 Fund’ means the fund described in 64.604(c)(5)(iii) of 

23 title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the 

24 date of enactment of this section. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this section, each provider of video 

3 conferencing services shall participate in, and contribute 

4 to, the TRS Fund in a manner prescribed by the Commis5 sion by regulation to provide for obligations of those pro6 viders that are consistent with, and comparable to, the ob7 ligations of other contributors to the TRS Fund. 

8 ‘‘(c) USE OF AMOUNTS.—The Commission shall use 

9 contributions made under subsection (b) to carry out the 

10 program under subpart GG of part 64 of title 47, Code 

11 of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enact12 ment of this section.’’. 

13 SEC. 303. NATIONAL DEAFBLIND EQUIPMENT DISTRIBU14 TION PROGRAM. 

15 Section 719 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

16 U.S.C. 620) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in18 serting the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) UPDATED REGULATIONS.—Not later than 18 

20 months after the date of enactment of the Communica21 tions, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 2022, the 

22 Commission shall update the rules under section 64.610 

23 of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

24 regulation, to define as eligible for telecommunications 

25 relay service support those programs that are approved 


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1 by the Commission for the distribution of specialized cus2 tomer premises equipment and software designed to make 

3 telecommunications service, internet access service, and 

4 advanced communications, including interexchange serv5 ices and advanced telecommunications and information 

6 services, accessible to individuals who are DeafBlind. 

7 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘indi8 vidual who is DeafBlind’— 

9 ‘‘(1) has the meaning given the term ‘individual 

10 who is deaf-blind’ in section 206(2) of the Helen 

11 Keller National Center Act (29 U.S.C. 1905(2)), as 

12 amended by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 

13 1992; and 

14 ‘‘(2) includes an individual who— 

15 ‘‘(A) for the purposes of satisfying sub16 paragraph (A)(i) of such section 206(2), has 

17 been diagnosed with a cortical or cerebral visual 

18 impairment; 

19 ‘‘(B) for the purposes of satisfying sub20 paragraph (A)(ii) of such section 206(2), has 

21 been diagnosed with an auditory processing dis22 order; or 

23 ‘‘(C) for the purposes of satisfying sub24 paragraphs (A)(i) and (A)(ii) of such section 

25 206(2), has been diagnosed with both a cortical 


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1 or cerebral visual impairment and an auditory 

2 processing disorder.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$10,000,000’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘$20,000,000, which the Commission 

5 shall adjust annually for inflation using an inflation 

6 factor determined by the Commission’’. 

7 SEC. 304. ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES ADVI8 SORY COMMITTEE. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES; 

11 VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICE.—The terms ‘‘ad12 vanced communications services’’ and ‘‘video confer13 encing service’’ have the meanings given the terms 

14 in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

15 U.S.C. 153), as amended by this Act. 

16 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi17 sory Committee’’ means the Advanced Communica18 tions Services Advisory Committee established under 

19 subsection (b). 

20 (3) CHAIR.—The term ‘‘Chair’’ means the 

21 Chair of the Commission. 

22 (4) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

23 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

24 (5) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES.— 

25 The term ‘‘telecommunications relay services’’ has 


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1 the meaning given the term in section 225(a) of the 

2 Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 225(a)), as 

3 amended by this Act. 

4 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 

5 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair shall establish 

6 an advisory committee to be known as the Advanced Com7 munications Services Advisory Committee. 

8 (c) MEMBERSHIP.—As soon as practicable after the 

9 date on which the Chair establishes the Advisory Com10 mittee, the Chair shall appoint individuals who have the 

11 technical knowledge and engineering expertise to serve on 

12 the Advisory Committee in the fulfillment of the duties 

13 of the Advisory Committee, including the following: 

14 (1) Representatives of entities involved in the 

15 provision of video conferencing services (or a na16 tional organization representing such entities). 

17 (2) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 

18 manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 

19 capabilities for the provision of video conferencing 

20 services (or a national organization representing 

21 such vendors, developers, or manufacturers). 

22 (3) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 

23 manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 

24 capabilities for the provision of assistive technologies 

25 used with video conferencing services (or a national 


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1 organization representing such vendors, developers, 

2 or manufacturers). 

3 (4) Representatives of manufacturers of con4 sumer electronics or information technology equip5 ment engaged in the provision of video conferencing 

6 services (or a national organization representing 

7 such manufacturers). 

8 (5) Representatives of national organizations 

9 representing accessibility advocates, including people 

10 with disabilities and older Americans. 

11 (6) Representatives of service agencies engaged 

12 in the provision of captioning and interpretation 

13 services for video conferencing services. 

14 (7) Representatives of providers of tele15 communications relay services. 

16 (8) Academic experts or representatives of re17 search institutions with expertise regarding ad18 vanced communication services. 

19 (9) Individuals with technical and engineering 

20 expertise, as the Chair determines appropriate. 

21 (d) COMMISSION OVERSIGHT.—The Chair shall ap22 point a member of the staff of the Commission to mod23 erate and direct the work of the Advisory Committee. 


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1 (e) TECHNICAL STAFF.—The Chair shall appoint a 

2 member of the technical staff of the Commission to pro3 vide technical assistance to the Advisory Committee. 

4 (f) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

5 (1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES RE6 PORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date on 

7 which the Advisory Committee first meets, the Advi8 sory Committee shall submit to the Commission a 

9 report that, subject to paragraph (2), includes the 

10 following: 

11 (A) A recommended schedule of deadlines 

12 for— 

13 (i) making video conferencing services 

14 and equipment accessible to individuals 

15 with disabilities; and 

16 (ii) compliance with quality metrics 

17 and thresholds for built-in closed cap18 tioning functionality for video conferencing 

19 services and equipment. 

20 (B) An identification of the protocols, tech21 nical capabilities, and technical procedures 

22 needed to— 

23 (i) permit video conferencing services 

24 to include built-in closed captioning 

25 functionality; and 


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1 (ii) allow the interconnection of, and 

2 compatibility with, assistive technologies 

3 and services, existing peripheral devices, 

4 and specialized customer premises equip5 ment commonly used by individuals with 

6 disabilities to achieve access. 

7 (C) A recommendation for technical stand8 ards to address the protocols, technical capabili9 ties, and technical procedures identified under 

10 subparagraph (B). 

11 (D) A recommendation for standards to be 

12 used to ensure that the quality of built-in closed 

13 captioning functionality for video conferencing 

14 services facilitates effective communication. 

15 (2) CONSIDERATION OF WORK BY STANDARDS16 SETTING ORGANIZATIONS.—The recommendations of 

17 the Advisory Committee contained in the report sub18 mitted under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent pos19 sible, incorporate the standards, protocols, and pro20 cedures that have been adopted by recognized indus21 try standard-setting organizations for each of the 

22 purposes described in that paragraph. 

23 (g) MEETINGS.— 

24 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—The initial meeting of 

25 the Advisory Committee shall take place not later 


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1 than 45 days after the date on which the Chair ap2 points the members of the Advisory Committee 

3 under subsection (c). 

4 (2) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meet5 ing of the Advisory Committee under paragraph (1), 

6 the Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the 

7 Chair. 

8 (3) NOTICE; OPEN MEETINGS.—Each meeting 

9 held by the Advisory Committee shall be— 

10 (A) noticed not fewer than 14 days before 

11 the date of that meeting; and 

12 (B) open to the public. 

13 (h) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 

(1) QUORUM.—The presence of 1 14 ⁄3 of the mem15 bers of the Advisory Committee shall constitute a 

16 quorum for conducting the business of the Advisory 

17 Committee. 

18 (2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advisory 

19 Committee in carrying out the functions of the Advi20 sory Committee, the Chair may establish appropriate 

21 subcommittees composed of members of the Advisory 

22 Committee and other subject matter experts. 

23 (3) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL RULES.—The 

24 Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 

25 rules as needed. 


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1 (i) INAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM2 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

3 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to the Advisory 

4 Committee or the activities of the Advisory Committee. 

5 SEC. 305. REAL-TIME TEXT. 

6 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

7 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

8 716 (47 U.S.C. 617) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 716A. REAL-TIME TEXT. 

10 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

11 of this section, the Commission shall revise the regulations 

12 of the Commission to require that all interconnected and 

13 non-interconnected VoIP services, whether delivered using 

14 wireless or wireline infrastructure, enable, so long as it 

15 is achievable (as defined in section 716)— 

16 ‘‘(1) the delivery of real-time text with other 

17 wireless and wireline VoIP services; and 

18 ‘‘(2) connectivity of real-time text to public 

19 safety answering points, as defined in section 

20 222(h).’’. 

21 SEC. 306. ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES SOFT22 WARE. 

23 Section 716(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 

24 (47 U.S.C. 617(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—Not later 

2 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this para3 graph, the Commission shall update the regulations 

4 prescribed under this subsection to require that all 

5 obligations applicable to equipment used for ad6 vanced communications services extend to software 

7 used for those services, without regard to whether 

8 that software is pre-installed on equipment used for 

9 those services.’’. 

10 TITLE IV—EMERGING 

11 TECHNOLOGY 

12 SEC. 401. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY. 

13 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (42 

14 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 723. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY. 

17 ‘‘(a) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

18 years after the date of enactment of this section, and every 

19 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall, in consultation 

20 with the United States Access Board, submit to the Com21 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

22 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

23 the House of Representatives a report assessing— 

24 ‘‘(1) the extent to which any accessibility bar25 riers exist for individuals with disabilities, including 


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1 individuals who are blind, deaf, or DeafBlind or in2 dividuals who have low vision, an auditory proc3 essing disorder, or a cortical or cerebral visual im4 pairment, with respect to emerging communications 

5 and video programming technologies and services, 

6 including communication and video programming 

7 technologies that use augmented reality, virtual re8 ality, extended reality, dual reality, artificial intel9 ligence and other advanced machine learning, robot10 ics, the Internet of Things, and other forms of ad11 vanced computing power; and 

12 ‘‘(2) solutions needed to ensure that new or 

13 emerging communications and video programming 

14 technologies and services such as those described in 

15 paragraph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) are accessible to individuals with dis17 abilities; 

18 ‘‘(B) provide the necessary hardware and 

19 software to achieve compatibility with existing 

20 peripheral devices or specialized customer prem21 ises equipment commonly used by individuals 

22 with disabilities to achieve access; and 

23 ‘‘(C) can be used to eliminate barriers for 

24 individuals with disabilities, including individ25 uals who are blind, deaf, or DeafBlind, individVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Nov 21, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5121.IS S5121

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1 uals who have low vision, an auditory proc2 essing disorder, a cortical or cerebral visual im3 pairment, or a speech disability, and individuals 

4 who use augmentative and alternative commu5 nication. 

6 ‘‘(b) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECT ON INDIVIDUALS

7 WITH PARTICULAR BARRIERS.—In preparing each report 

8 required under subsection (a), the Commission shall con9 sider the effect of emerging technologies on individuals 

10 with disabilities who use those technologies and have par11 ticular barriers to participation and communication with 

12 those technologies, including individuals with disabilities 

13 using those technologies— 

14 ‘‘(1) who have limited language or limited 

15 English language; 

16 ‘‘(2) who have significant or targeted disabil17 ities, including individuals who have a speech dis18 ability and individuals who use augmentative and al19 ternative communication; 

20 ‘‘(3) who have disabilities limiting communica21 tion; 

22 ‘‘(4) who lack access to broadband services and 

23 technology; or 

24 ‘‘(5) who face heightened barriers due to race, 

25 ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientaVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:55 Nov 21, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5121.IS S5121

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1 tion, gender identity, Tribal affiliation, or socio2 economic status. 

3 ‘‘(c) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

4 date on which the Commission submits each report re5 quired under subsection (a), the Commission shall issue 

6 new or update existing regulations for ensuring the acces7 sibility of emerging communications and video program8 ming technologies and services by individuals with disabil9 ities where doing so is necessary to further the goals of 

10 the statutory provisions implemented by the regulations 

11 of the Commission under parts 6, 7, 14, and 79 of title 

12 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regula13 tion, intended to fulfill these goals. 

14 ‘‘(d) AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMU15 NICATION DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘augment16 ative and alternative communication’ means any tool, 

17 method, technology, strategy, service, training, coaching, 

18 or other support used to supplement or replace speech.’’. 

19 TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT AND 

20 REPORTING 

21 SEC. 501. ACCESSIBILITY ENFORCEMENT. 

22 Section 503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 

23 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5)) is amended by inserting after 

24 ‘‘uses that tower’’ the following: ‘‘, or in the case of viola25 tions of this Act related to requirements of accessibility 


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1 for individuals with disabilities, including violations of sec2 tion 225, section 255, section 276(b)(1)(A), subsections 

3 (u) through (cc) of section 303, section 330(b), section 

4 710, section 711, section 713, or sections 715 through 

5 719’’. 

6 SEC. 502. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

7 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

8 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), as amended by section 401 of this 

9 Act, is amended— 

10 (1) in section 717 (47 U.S.C. 618)— 

11 (A) by striking subsection (b); 

12 (B) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), 

13 and (e) as subsections (b), (c), and (d), respec14 tively; and 

15 (C) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, 

16 by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub17 section (c)’’; and 

18 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 724. ACCESSIBILITY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

20 ‘‘Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

21 of this section, and every 2 years thereafter, the Commis22 sion shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

23 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 

24 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

25 a report that includes the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) The number and nature of complaints re2 ceived pursuant to subsection (u), (z), (aa), or (bb) 

3 of section 303, section 330(b), section 713, and sec4 tion 716(a) during the period covered by the report. 

5 ‘‘(2) A description of the actions taken to re6 solve the complaints described in paragraph (1), in7 cluding forfeiture penalties assessed. 

8 ‘‘(3) The length of time that was taken by the 

9 Commission to resolve each such complaint. 

10 ‘‘(4) The number, status, nature, and outcome 

11 of each action for mandamus filed pursuant to sec12 tion 717(a)(6) and the number, status, nature, and 

13 outcome of each appeal filed pursuant to section 

14 402(b)(10).’’. 

Æ 


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