I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4858 

To update the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 

of 2010. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 25, 2023 

Ms. ESHOO (for herself, Ms. NORTON, and Mr. CARSON) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

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 2023’’. 

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 

Sec. 101. Definitions. 


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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 03:11 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4858.IH H4858

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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’’; and 

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 2023, 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 2023, 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) ensure that English-lan6 guage and Spanish-language video 

7 programming first published or exhib8 ited after the effective date of the re9 vised regulations is fully accessible 

10 through the provision of closed cap11 tions in the original language of the 

12 audio track of the programming; 

13 ‘‘(II) define categories of entities 

14 engaged in making available video 

15 programming; and 

16 ‘‘(III) apportion the responsibil17 ities for the provision, quality, pass18 through, and rendering of closed cap19 tions among the entities defined by 

20 the Commission under subclause 

21 (II)— 

22 ‘‘(aa) to ensure full access 

23 by viewers via all entities and 

24 combinations of entities that 


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1 make video programming avail2 able to viewers; 

3 ‘‘(bb) to ensure that the reg4 ulations can be enforced effec5 tively against responsible parties; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(cc) to ensure that closed 

8 caption data remains with the 

9 video programming to which the 

10 data is added and is distributed 

11 in common formats so that closed 

12 captions can be exhibited intact 

13 by all other entities that subse14 quently make the programming 

15 available to viewers; 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall require that an entity en17 gaged in making available user-generated 

18 video, whether or not the entity is also en19 gaged in making available video that is not 

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

21 authoring tools that— 

22 ‘‘(I) permit users who post videos 

23 on the entity’s platform to add closed 

24 captions; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) conspicuously prompt users 

2 who post videos on the entity’s plat3 form to use the tools; 

4 ‘‘(iii) shall not distinguish between 

5 full-length programming and video clips; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(iv) for the purposes of determining 

8 closed captioning obligations under this 

9 section and assessing compliance with the 

10 regulations of the Commission governing 

11 the quality of closed captioning under 

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

13 79.1 of title 47, Code of Federal Regula14 tions, or any successor regulation gov15 erning closed captioning quality, treat any 

16 programming that was live programming 

17 or near-live programming at the time that 

18 it was initially made available to viewers as 

19 prerecorded programming if it is again 

20 made available to viewers more than 24 

21 hours after its initial availability.’’; 

22 (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(d) CAPTION QUALITY UPDATES.— 


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

2 after the date of enactment of the Communications, 

3 Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 2023, the 

4 Commission shall revise its regulations to extend the 

5 requirements for the quality of closed captions under 

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

7 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

8 regulation, to all programming made available via 

9 Internet protocol or any successor protocol. 

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

11 years after the date of enactment of the Commu12 nications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 

13 2023, and every 4 years thereafter, the Commission 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) update its regulations pertaining to 

16 the quality of closed captions as necessary to 

17 reflect technological and methodological ad18 vances, to the extent deployment of such ad19 vances will improve the quality of closed cap20 tions; and 

21 ‘‘(B) take any action, including enforce22 ment, necessary to ensure compliance with its 

23 regulations pertaining to the quality of closed 

24 captions.’’; and 

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


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

2 by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub3 sections (b) and (c)’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the pro5 vider or owner of such programming’’ and in6 serting ‘‘an entity responsible for publishing, 

7 exhibiting, or making available such program8 ming’’; and 

9 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert10 ing the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) an entity responsible for publishing, exhib12 iting, or making available video programming may 

13 petition the Commission for an exemption from the 

14 requirements of subsection (b) or (c), and the Com15 mission may grant the petition upon a showing that 

16 the requirements would be economically burdensome. 

17 The Commission shall act to grant or deny any such 

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

19 after the Commission receives the petition, unless 

20 the Commission finds that an extension of the 6- 

21 month period is necessary to determine whether the 

22 requirements are economically burdensome.’’. 

23 (b) ELIMINATION OF CERTAIN CATEGORICAL EX24 EMPTIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact25 ment of this Act, the Federal Communications CommisVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4858.IH H4858

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1 sion shall reassess the second sentence of paragraph 

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

3 47, Code of Federal Regulations, to eliminate categorical 

4 exemptions that impede access to video programming, are 

5 outdated, or are no longer warranted under subsection 

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

7 (47 U.S.C. 613), as so redesignated by subsection (a) of 

8 this section. 

9 SEC. 103. AUDIO DESCRIPTION. 

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

11 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613), as re12 designated by section 102, is amended— 

13 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘Video’’ and in14 serting ‘‘Audio’’; and 

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

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) REVISION TO REINSTATED AUDIO DE18 SCRIPTION REGULATIONS FOR PROGRAMMING PUB19 LISHED OR EXHIBITED ON TELEVISION.— 

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

21 months after the date of enactment of the Com22 munications, Video, and Technology Accessi23 bility Act of 2023, the Commission shall revise 

24 section 79.3 of title 47, Code of Federal Regu25 lations (relating to audio description of video 


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1 programming) in accordance with subparagraph 

2 (B). 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

4 revised under subparagraph (A)— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall ensure that all English-lan6 guage and Spanish-language video pro7 gramming first published or exhibited on 

8 television after the effective date of the re9 vised regulations is fully accessible through 

10 the provision of audio description in the 

11 original language of the audio track of the 

12 programming; 

13 ‘‘(ii) shall include an appropriate 

14 schedule of deadlines, the latest of which 

15 shall be not later than 6 years after the ef16 fective date of the revised regulations, for 

17 the provision, receipt, and performance of 

18 audio described programming published or 

19 exhibited on television, taking into account 

20 whether the programming— 

21 ‘‘(I) is prerecorded, live, or near22 live; 

23 ‘‘(II) has been published or ex24 hibited prior to the effective date of 

25 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 at the beginning of the programming 

15 on all audio channels provided in the 

16 same languages as the available audio 

17 description streams to indicate that 

18 audio description is available in those 

19 languages; 

20 ‘‘(iv) shall provide that audio descrip21 tion of video programming published or ex22 hibited on television shall be made avail23 able to the public on an audio channel sole24 ly dedicated to audio description, so long 


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1 as it is achievable (as defined in section 

2 716); 

3 ‘‘(v) shall require any entity involved 

4 in the publishing or exhibiting of audio de5 scribed programming published or exhib6 ited on television to provide contact infor7 mation, consistent with sections 79.1(i) 

8 and 79.4(c)(2)(iii) of title 47, Code of Fed9 eral Regulations, or any successor regula10 tions, for users to report problems related 

11 to audio description; and 

12 ‘‘(vi) for the purposes of determining 

13 audio description obligations under this 

14 paragraph and assessing compliance with 

15 regulations adopted to assess the quality of 

16 audio description under paragraph (4), 

17 shall treat any programming that was live 

18 or near-live programming at the time of its 

19 initial airing as prerecorded programming 

20 if it is re-exhibited by an entity more than 

21 36 hours after its initial airing. 

22 ‘‘(3) AUDIO DESCRIPTION ON VIDEO PROGRAM23 MING MADE AVAILABLE VIA INTERNET PROTOCOL.— 

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

25 after the date of submission of the report to the 


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1 Commission required under subsection 

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

3 Technology Accessibility Act of 2023, the Com4 mission shall revise its regulations to require 

5 the provision, receipt, and performance of audio 

6 description on video programming made avail7 able using Internet protocol or any successor 

8 protocol published or exhibited after the effec9 tive date of the revised regulations. 

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

11 revised under subparagraph (A)— 

12 ‘‘(i) shall ensure that all video pro13 gramming made available using Internet 

14 protocol or any successor protocol is fully 

15 accessible through the provision of audio 

16 description; 

17 ‘‘(ii) shall include an appropriate 

18 schedule of deadlines, the latest of which 

19 shall be not later than 6 years after the ef20 fective date of the revised regulations, for 

21 the provision, receipt, and performance of 

22 audio described programming made avail23 able using Internet protocol or any suc24 cessor protocol, taking into account wheth25 er the programming— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is prerecorded, live, or near2 live; 

3 ‘‘(II) has been made available to 

4 users prior to the effective date of the 

5 revised regulations; and 

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

7 time it was initially made available; 

8 ‘‘(iii) shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) define categories of entities 

10 engaged in making available video 

11 programming using Internet protocol 

12 or any successor protocol; and 

13 ‘‘(II) apportion the responsibil14 ities for the provision, quality, pass15 through, and performance of audio de16 scription among the entities identified 

17 by the Commission under subclause 

18 (I)— 

19 ‘‘(aa) to ensure full access 

20 by viewers; 

21 ‘‘(bb) to ensure that the reg22 ulations can be enforced effec23 tively against responsible parties; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(cc) to ensure that audio 

2 description data remains with the 

3 video programming to which the 

4 data is added and is distributed 

5 in common formats so that audio 

6 description can be exhibited in7 tact by all other entities that 

8 subsequently make the program9 ming available to viewers; 

10 ‘‘(iv) shall require that an entity en11 gaged in making available user-generated 

12 video, whether or not the entity is also en13 gaged in making available video that is not 

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

15 authoring tools that— 

16 ‘‘(I) permit users who post videos 

17 on the entity’s platform to add audio 

18 description; and 

19 ‘‘(II) conspicuously prompt users 

20 who post videos on the entity’s plat21 form to use the tools; 

22 ‘‘(v) shall provide that audio described 

23 programming made available using Inter24 net protocol or any successor protocol 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) be labeled and searchable or 

2 otherwise easily discoverable through 

3 navigation devices, apparatuses, appli4 cations, and other methods on which 

5 the programming is made available; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) include a recognizable tone 

8 at the beginning of the programming 

9 on all audio channels provided in the 

10 same languages as the available audio 

11 description streams to indicate that 

12 audio description is available in those 

13 languages; 

14 ‘‘(vi) shall provide that audio descrip15 tion of video programming made available 

16 using Internet protocol or any successor 

17 protocol shall be provided on an audio 

18 track solely dedicated to audio description, 

19 so long as it is achievable (as defined in 

20 section 716); 

21 ‘‘(vii) shall require entities engaged in 

22 making available audio described program23 ming using Internet protocol or any suc24 cessor protocol to provide contact informa25 tion, consistent with sections 79.1(i) and 


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1 79.4(c)(2)(iii) of title 47, Code of Federal 

2 Regulations, or any successor regulations, 

3 for users to report problems related to 

4 audio description; and 

5 ‘‘(viii) for the purposes of determining 

6 audio description obligations under this 

7 paragraph and assessing compliance with 

8 regulations adopted to assess the quality of 

9 audio description under paragraph (4), 

10 shall treat any programming that was live 

11 or near-live programming at the time it 

12 was initially made available as prerecorded 

13 programming if it is made available by any 

14 entity more than 36 hours after it was ini15 tially made available. 

16 ‘‘(4) AUDIO DESCRIPTION QUALITY.— 

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

18 after the date of submission of the report to the 

19 Commission required under subsection 

20 106(f)(2) of the Communications, Video, and 

21 Technology Accessibility Act of 2023, the Com22 mission shall adopt regulations to ensure the 

23 quality of audio description on video program24 ming, including video programming published 

25 or exhibited on television or made available via 


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1 Internet protocol or any successor protocol, as 

2 necessary to afford access to video program3 ming that is functionally equivalent to the ac4 cess provided by the visual components of the 

5 programming, including, to the extent prac6 ticable, open subtitles in the same language as 

7 the audio or in other languages if the subtitles 

8 convey information relevant to the program that 

9 is not conveyed in the audio of the program. 

10 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations 

11 adopted under subparagraph (A) shall require 

12 that audio description— 

13 ‘‘(i) sufficiently convey key elements 

14 of the visual component; 

15 ‘‘(ii) be appropriately voiced, consid16 ering whether the use of synthetic voices is 

17 permissible and if so, under what cir18 cumstances; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) be appropriately edited and en20 coded to ensure consistency with the edit21 ing and encoding of the non-description 

22 audio track of the programming. 

23 ‘‘(5) AUDIO DESCRIPTION EXEMPTIONS.—Not24 withstanding paragraphs (2) and (3)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the Commission may exempt by regu2 lation from the requirements under paragraphs 

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

4 services for which the Commission has deter5 mined that the provision of audio description 

6 would be economically burdensome to an entity 

7 responsible for publishing or exhibiting or mak8 ing available such programming; and 

9 ‘‘(B) an entity responsible for publishing 

10 or exhibiting or making available video pro11 gramming may petition the Commission for an 

12 exemption from the requirements under para13 graphs (2) and (3), and the Commission may 

14 grant the exemption upon a showing that the 

15 requirement to include audio description would 

16 be economically burdensome. The Commission 

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

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

19 the Commission receives the petition, unless the 

20 Commission finds that an extension of the 6- 

21 month period is necessary to determine whether 

22 the requirements are economically burden23 some.’’. 


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1 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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

3 301 et seq.) is amended— 

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

5 (A) in subsection (u)— 

6 (i) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘video descrip8 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘audio descrip9 tion’’; and 

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

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

12 (ii) by moving the left margin of that 

13 subsection and each paragraph, subpara14 graph, and clause therein 2 ems to the left; 

15 and 

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

17 description’’ each place the term appears and 

18 inserting ‘‘audio description’’; and 

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

20 striking ‘‘video description’’ each place the term ap21 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 2023, 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 paragraph (1) to the extent that compliance 

21 with such standards is achievable (as defined in sec22 tion 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 

7 protocol 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 

6 protocol 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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•HR 4858 IH

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.—Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, 

6 shall not apply with respect to the Advisory Committee 

7 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 (u)— 

14 (A) by adjusting the margins two ems to 

15 the left; 

16 (B) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘vis17 ually impaired’’ and inserting ‘‘low vision’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) by striking subparagraph (A); and 

20 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

21 (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and 

22 (B), respectively; 

23 (2) in subsection (z)— 

24 (A) by adjusting the margins two ems to 

25 the left; 


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•HR 4858 IH

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

2 description’’ each place it appears and inserting 

3 ‘‘audio description’’; and 

4 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘available to’’ and in6 serting the following: ‘‘available— 

7 ‘‘(A) to’’; 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (A), as so des9 ignated— 

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

11 (II) by striking ‘‘audible.’’ and 

12 inserting the following: ‘‘audible, 

13 which— 

14 ‘‘(i) shall require encoding closed cap15 tions and audio description data along with 

16 audio and video transmission in a format 

17 that can be adjusted and rendered by the 

18 consumer equipment consistent with the 

19 requirements of subsection (cc); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) does not include merely ren21 dering closed captions or audio description 

22 into visual or aural forms on the source de23 vice; and’’; and 

24 (iii) by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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•HR 4858 IH

1 ‘‘(B) to enable the activation of closed cap2 tions, audio description, and emergency infor3 mation on the consumer equipment.’’; and 

4 (3) by striking subsections (aa) and (bb) and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(aa) Require for all digital apparatus designed to 

7 receive or play back video programming made available si8 multaneously with sound, including apparatus designed to 

9 receive or display video programming made available using 

10 Internet protocol or any successor protocol, and navigation 

11 devices (as defined in section 76.1200 of title 47, Code 

12 of Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation) for 

13 the display or selection of multichannel video program14 ming manufactured or imported into the United States, 

15 that each apparatus or device— 

16 ‘‘(1) be designed, developed, and fabricated so 

17 that control of appropriate built-in apparatus func18 tions are accessible to and usable by individuals with 

19 disabilities, including individuals who are blind or 

20 low-vision, individuals with mobility disabilities, and 

21 individuals with speech disabilities, except that the 

22 Commission may not specify the technical standards, 

23 protocols, procedures, and other technical require24 ments for meeting this requirement; 


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•HR 4858 IH

1 ‘‘(2) if equipped with built-in on-screen text 

2 menus or other visual indicators that are used to ac3 cess its functions, to accompany such functions with 

4 audio output that is either integrated or peripheral 

5 to the apparatus or navigation device, so that such 

6 menus or indicators are accessible to and usable by 

7 individuals who are blind or low-vision in real-time; 

8 ‘‘(3) provides easy access to closed captioning 

9 activation 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 dedicated and tactilely identi14 fiable button of at least similar size to other 

15 buttons on the remote control that is— 

16 ‘‘(i) clearly labeled for closed captions; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) easily locatable on the remote 

19 control to activate and deactivate closed 

20 captions; and 

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

23 providing a dedicated button, key, or icon that 

24 is prominently displayed, clearly labeled for 


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1 closed captions, and easily locatable to activate 

2 and deactivate closed captions; 

3 ‘‘(4) provides easy access to audio description 

4 activation by— 

5 ‘‘(A) if the apparatus or device is con6 trolled by a physical remote control included 

7 with the apparatus or device at the time of pur8 chase, providing a dedicated and tactilely identi9 fiable button of at least similar size to other 

10 buttons on the remote control that is— 

11 ‘‘(i) clearly labeled for audio descrip12 tion; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) easily locatable on the remote 

14 control to activate and deactivate audio de15 scription; and 

16 ‘‘(B) if the apparatus or device is con17 trolled by means other than a remote control, 

18 providing a dedicated button, key, or icon that 

19 is prominently displayed, clearly labeled for 

20 audio description, and easily locatable to acti21 vate and deactivate audio description; 

22 ‘‘(5) provides easy access to closed captioning 

23 display settings, including the technical capabilities 

24 set forth in section 79.103(c) of title 47, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations, or any successor regulation, 


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1 and audio description performance settings, includ2 ing the capability to adjust the relative volumes of 

3 audio description and the audio track of a program, 

4 by— 

5 ‘‘(A) if the apparatus or device is con6 trolled by a physical remote control included 

7 with the apparatus or device at the time of pur8 chase, providing a dedicated and tactilely identi9 fiable button that is prominently displayed, 

10 clearly labeled for accessibility settings, and 

11 easily locatable on the remote control— 

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

13 closed captioning and audio description 

14 settings; 

15 ‘‘(ii) that permits previewing the set16 tings while leaving the underlying pro17 gramming visible and audible; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) that is of at least similar size to 

19 other buttons on the remote control; and 

20 ‘‘(B) if the apparatus or device is con21 trolled by means other than a remote control, 

22 providing a dedicated button, key, or icon that 

23 is prominently displayed, clearly labeled for ac24 cessibility settings, and easily discoverable 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) permits the user to change closed 

2 captioning display and audio description 

3 performance settings; and— 

4 ‘‘(ii) is displayed proximately to the 

5 video playback interface; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) permits previewing the settings 

7 while leaving the underlying programming 

8 visible and audible; 

9 ‘‘(6) 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 (5) 

13 upon initial power-on after user purchase of the ap14 paratus or device or upon a reset to factory settings 

15 of the apparatus or device; 

16 ‘‘(7) ensures that closed caption activation and 

17 display settings and audio description activation and 

18 performance settings required under paragraphs (1) 

19 through (6) persist across all video playback 

20 functionality on the apparatus or device, including in 

21 applications or other software or plug-ins added by 

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

23 and after powering off or restarting the apparatus 

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


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•HR 4858 IH

1 apparatus or device is reset to factory default set2 tings by the user; and 

3 ‘‘(8) provides the necessary hardware and soft4 ware to achieve compatibility with assistive tech5 nologies and services, peripheral devices, or special6 ized customer premises equipment commonly used 

7 by individuals with disabilities to achieve access, in8 cluding refreshable braille displays, switch activation 

9 such as sip and puff devices, hearing aids, hands10 free technologies, and voice control technologies.’’. 

11 (b) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.— 

12 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

13 ‘‘navigation device’’ has the meaning given the term 

14 in section 76.1200 of title 47, Code of Federal Reg15 ulations, or any successor regulation. 

16 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 18 months 

17 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 

18 Communications Commission shall prescribe such 

19 regulations as are necessary to implement the 

20 amendments made by subsection (a), which shall— 

21 (A) define categories of entities engaged in 

22 manufacturing, importing into the United 

23 States, maintaining, operating, or providing ap24 plications, plugins, or other software for appa25 ratus and navigation devices; and 


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1 (B) apportion the responsibilities for com2 pliance with subsections (u), (z), and (aa) of 

3 section 303 of the Communications Act of 1934 

4 (47 U.S.C. 303) among the entities defined by 

5 the Commission under paragraph (1)— 

6 (i) to ensure full access by viewers via 

7 all entities and combinations of entities re8 sponsible for digital apparatus and naviga9 tion devices; and 

10 (ii) to ensure that the regulations can 

11 be enforced effectively against responsible 

12 parties. 

13 TITLE III—COMMUNICATIONS 

14 SERVICES 

15 SEC. 301. VIDEO CONFERENCING. 

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

17 seq.) is amended— 

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

19 by section 101— 

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

21 ‘‘interoperable’’; 

22 (B) by striking paragraph (26), as so re23 designated by section 101; 

24 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (27) 

25 through (58), as so redesignated by section 


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1 101, as paragraphs (26) through (57), respec2 tively; 

3 (D) by redesignating paragraph (57), as so 

4 redesignated by subparagraph (C), as para5 graph (60); and 

6 (E) by inserting after paragraph (56), as 

7 so redesignated by subparagraph (C), the fol8 lowing: 

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

10 term ‘video conferencing service’ means a service 

11 that provides real-time video communications, in12 cluding audio, to enable users to share information 

13 of the user’s choosing. 

14 ‘‘(58) VISUAL IMAGE DESCRIPTIVE

15 FUNCTIONALITY.—The term ‘visual image descrip16 tive functionality’ means functionality that generates 

17 real-time descriptions of visual information, includ18 ing images and text, for the purpose of conveying 

19 those descriptions to individuals with disabilities. 

20 ‘‘(59) VISUAL IMAGE DESCRIPTIVE SERVICE.— 

21 The term ‘visual image descriptive service’ means a 

22 third party service that provides visual image de23 scriptive functionality.’’; and 

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

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) REVISION OF REGULATIONS; VIDEO CON2 FERENCING SERVICES.—Not later than 18 months 

3 after the date on which the Advanced Communica4 tions Services Advisory Committee submits the re5 port required under section 304(f)(1) of the Commu6 nications, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 

7 2023, the Commission shall revise the regulations 

8 promulgated under this subsection to— 

9 ‘‘(A) require that all obligations applicable 

10 to advanced communications services, and 

11 equipment used for advanced communications 

12 services, extend to video conferencing services 

13 and equipment used for video conferencing serv14 ices; 

15 ‘‘(B) require that all advanced communica16 tions services and equipment capable of pro17 viding or enabling video conferencing services— 

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

19 functionality using automatic speech rec20 ognition or similar or successor tech21 nologies; 

22 ‘‘(ii) to the extent technically feasible, 

23 have built-in automated visual image 

24 functionality; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) implement application program2 ming interfaces or similar technical mecha3 nisms to allow the interconnection of, and 

4 achieve compatibility with, assistive tech5 nologies and services, peripheral devices, 

6 and specialized customer premises equip7 ment commonly used by individuals with 

8 disabilities to achieve access, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) third-party captioning serv10 ices; 

11 ‘‘(II) third-party sign language 

12 interpreting services; 

13 ‘‘(III) visual image descriptive 

14 services; 

15 ‘‘(IV) telecommunications relay 

16 services that have been approved by 

17 the Commission under section 225; 

18 ‘‘(V) screen-readers for all user 

19 interface elements and visual informa20 tion, including presentations, videos, 

21 and interactive documents shared dur22 ing video conference calls; 

23 ‘‘(VI) refreshable braille displays 

24 and other devices used for the tactile 

25 conveyance of interface elements and 


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1 visual information, including presen2 tations, videos, and interactive docu3 ments shared during video conference 

4 calls; and 

5 ‘‘(VII) hands-free technologies 

6 and voice control technologies. 

7 ‘‘(iv) enable users and telecommuni8 cations relay service communications as9 sistants to control the activation and de-ac10 tivation, and customize the display, of cap11 tions, video interpreters, and communica12 tions assistants independently from hosts 

13 of video conferencing sessions; 

14 ‘‘(v) provide a simplified user inter15 face that is accessible to individuals with 

16 cognitive disabilities, including, if achiev17 able, a simplified, secure modality for initi18 ating and authenticating a video confer19 encing session; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) provide instructional materials 

21 for activating a video conferencing session 

22 with plain and simple language and iconog23 raphy that is accessible to individuals with 

24 cognitive disabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(C) adopt quality requirements for built2 in closed captioning functionality to facilitate 

3 effective communication under subparagraph 

4 (B)(i); and 

5 ‘‘(D) adopt quality requirements for built6 in automated visual image descriptive 

7 functionality to facilitate effective communica8 tion under subparagraph (B)(ii).’’. 

9 SEC. 302. RELAY SERVICES. 

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

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

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

13 (A) in subsection (a)— 

14 (i) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

15 and (3) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respec16 tively; 

17 (ii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

18 the following: 

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

20 ‘communication facilitator’ means a skilled user of 

21 American Sign Language who is able to facilitate 

22 the ability of a DeafBlind person to engage in trans23 mission and other services described in this section 

24 by conveying the information provided during the 

25 use of those services to the DeafBlind person 


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1 through close vision or tactile American Sign Lan2 guage. 

3 ‘‘(3) DEAF INTERPRETER.—The term ‘Deaf in4 terpreter’ means an individual who— 

5 ‘‘(A) is deaf or hard of hearing; 

6 ‘‘(B) possesses native or near-native flu7 ency in American Sign Language; and 

8 ‘‘(C) has specialized training or experience 

9 to assist in providing functionally equivalent 

10 sign language interpretation for an individual 

11 using American Sign Language in a situation 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(i) requires linguistic or cultural me14 diation; 

15 ‘‘(ii) may be highly complex in nature; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(iii) may involve individuals who face 

18 linguistic challenges, such as through 

19 atypical language use, language depriva20 tion, or idiosyncratic signing styles. 

21 ‘‘(4) DIRECT VIDEO CALLING SERVICE.—The 

22 term ‘direct video calling service’ means telephone 

23 customer support using one-to-one video communica24 tion that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is facilitated by a contact center rep2 resentative; and 

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

4 occur directly between not fewer than 2 parties 

5 using American Sign Language— 

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

7 which is a governmental agency, business, 

8 non-profit organization, emergency author9 ity, or other enterprise; and 

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

11 which— 

12 ‘‘(I) is deaf, hard of hearing, or 

13 DeafBlind; or 

14 ‘‘(II) has a speech disability or 

15 auditory processing disorder.’’; and 

16 (iii) by striking paragraph (6), as so 

17 redesignated, and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(6) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERV19 ICES.—The term ‘telecommunications relay services’ 

20 means— 

21 ‘‘(A) transmission services that provide the 

22 ability for an individual who is deaf, hard of 

23 hearing, or DeafBlind, or who has a speech dis24 ability or an auditory processing disorder, to 

25 engage in communication by wire or radio with 


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1 1 or more individuals, in a manner that is func2 tionally equivalent to (or, if technically feasible, 

3 equal to) the ability of a hearing individual who 

4 does not have a speech disability to commu5 nicate using voice communication services or 

6 advanced communications services by wire or 

7 radio; and 

8 ‘‘(B) other services facilitating functionally 

9 equivalent communication by wire or radio for 

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

11 DeafBlind, or who has a speech disability or an 

12 auditory processing disorder, including the pro13 vision of communication facilitators for an indi14 vidual who is DeafBlind and the provision of di15 rect video calling services for a call center to fa16 cilitate point-to-point communication in Amer17 ican Sign Language between government agen18 cies, businesses, emergency authorities, or other 

19 enterprises and users of American Sign Lan20 guage.’’; and 

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

22 the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE ACCESS TO

24 EMERGENCY SERVICES; COMMUNICATION

25 FACILITATORS; DIRECT VIDEO CALLING SERVICES.— 


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

2 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

3 the Commission shall promulgate such regula4 tions as are necessary to— 

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

6 support from the fund described in section 

7 64.604(c)(5)(iii) of title 47, Code of Fed8 eral Regulations, as in effect on that date 

9 of enactment— 

10 ‘‘(I) programs that are approved 

11 by the Commission to support direct 

12 video calling services; 

13 ‘‘(II) programs that are approved 

14 by the Commission to support the 

15 provision of communication 

16 facilitators; 

17 ‘‘(III) the expenses associated 

18 with the provision of a Deaf inter19 preter when necessary to provide func20 tional equivalency for a party on a call 

21 using video relay service, as defined in 

22 section 64.601(a)(51) of title 47, Code 

23 of Federal Regulations, or any suc24 cessor regulation; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) programs that are de2 signed, in accordance with subpara3 graph (B), to improve access to emer4 gency authorities by users of video 

5 relay services and direct video calling 

6 services to achieve the objectives de7 scribed in clause (ii); and 

8 ‘‘(V) expenses approved by the 

9 Commission to interconnect with video 

10 conferencing services; 

11 ‘‘(ii) achieve full, equal, and direct ac12 cess to public safety answering points, as 

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

14 other local emergency authorities, includ15 ing emergency authorities responding to 

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

17 individuals who— 

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

19 DeafBlind, or who have a speech dis20 ability or a cognitive disability; and 

21 ‘‘(II) use American Sign Lan22 guage; 

23 ‘‘(iii) ensure that a person can have a 

24 single telephone number for the purpose of 

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1 tities calling by means of video relay serv2 ices or voice or electronic text messaging 

3 services; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) ensure that all telecommuni5 cations relay services can directly and na6 tively interconnect with video conferencing 

7 services and the public switched telephone 

8 network. 

9 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The regulations de10 scribed in subparagraph (A)(i)(IV) shall, at a 

11 minimum, require that users communicating by 

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

13 defined in section 64.601 of title 47, Code of 

14 Federal Regulations, or any successor regula15 tion, shall be capable of using native dialing or 

16 1-step access on a mobile phone so that such 

17 communication— 

18 ‘‘(i) includes the location information 

19 of the user, to be transmitted and delivered 

20 immediate and directly to the applicable 

21 emergency authority; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is received by the applicable 

23 emergency authority with the same speed 

24 and efficiency as a voice call made by dial25 ing 9–1–1. 


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1 ‘‘(5) REASSESSMENT OF AVAILABLE SERVICES

2 AND MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Not later than 4 years 

3 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, and 

4 once every 4 years thereafter, the Commission shall, 

5 as necessary to respond to evolving communication 

6 technologies, reassess and, as necessary, update the 

7 regulations prescribed under this subsection to en8 sure that those regulations effectively satisfy the 

9 communication needs of individuals with disabilities 

10 who are covered by this Act, including by— 

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

12 telecommunications relay services; 

13 ‘‘(B) increasing and improving the manda14 tory minimum standards to ensure the quality 

15 of telecommunications relay services; and 

16 ‘‘(C) assessing the impact that evolving 

17 communication technologies have on the privacy 

18 of users of telecommunications relay services.’’; 

19 and 

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

21 616) the following: 

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

23 RELAY SERVICES. 

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

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


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

2 date of enactment of this section. 

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

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

5 conferencing services shall participate in, and contribute 

6 to, the TRS Fund in a manner prescribed by the Commis7 sion by regulation to provide for obligations of those pro8 viders that are consistent with, and comparable to, the ob9 ligations of other contributors to the TRS Fund. 

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

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

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

13 of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enact14 ment of this section.’’. 

15 SEC. 303. NATIONAL DEAFBLIND EQUIPMENT DISTRIBU16 TION PROGRAM. 

17 Section 719 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

18 U.S.C. 620) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in20 serting the following: 

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

22 months after the date of enactment of the Communica23 tions, Video, and Technology Accessibility Act of 2023, the 

24 Commission shall update the rules under section 64.610 

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


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1 regulation, to define as eligible for telecommunications 

2 relay service support those programs that are approved 

3 by the Commission for the distribution of specialized cus4 tomer premises equipment and software designed to make 

5 telecommunications service, internet access service, and 

6 advanced communications, including interexchange serv7 ices and advanced telecommunications and information 

8 services, accessible to individuals who are DeafBlind. 

9 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘indi10 vidual who is DeafBlind’— 

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

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

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

14 amended by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 

15 1992; and 

16 ‘‘(2) includes an individual who— 

17 ‘‘(A) for the purposes of satisfying sub18 paragraph (A)(i) of such section 206(2), has 

19 been diagnosed with a cortical or cerebral visual 

20 impairment; 

21 ‘‘(B) for the purposes of satisfying sub22 paragraph (A)(ii) of such section 206(2), has 

23 been diagnosed with an auditory processing dis24 order; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) for the purposes of satisfying sub2 paragraphs (A)(i) and (A)(ii) of such section 

3 206(2), has been diagnosed with both a cortical 

4 or cerebral visual impairment and an auditory 

5 processing disorder.’’; and 

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

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

8 shall adjust annually for inflation using an inflation 

9 factor determined by the Commission’’. 

10 SEC. 304. ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES ADVI11 SORY COMMITTEE. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 (1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES; 

14 VIDEO CONFERENCING SERVICE; VISUAL IMAGE DE15 SCRIPTIVE FUNCTIONALITY; VISUAL IMAGE DESCRIP16 TIVE SERVICE.—The terms ‘‘advanced communica17 tions services’’, ‘‘video conferencing service’’, ‘‘visual 

18 image descriptive functionality’’, and ‘‘visual image 

19 descriptive service’’ have the meanings given the 

20 terms in section 3 of the Communications Act of 

21 1934 (47 U.S.C. 153), as amended by this Act. 

22 (2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Advi23 sory Committee’’ means the Advanced Communica24 tions Services Advisory Committee established under 

25 subsection (b). 


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

2 Chair of the Commission. 

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

4 means the Federal Communications Commission. 

5 (5) TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICES.— 

6 The term ‘‘telecommunications relay services’’ has 

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

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

9 amended by this Act. 

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

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

12 an advisory committee to be known as the Advanced Com13 munications Services Advisory Committee. 

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

15 date on which the Chair establishes the Advisory Com16 mittee, the Chair shall appoint individuals who have the 

17 technical knowledge and engineering expertise to serve on 

18 the Advisory Committee in the fulfillment of the duties 

19 of the Advisory Committee, including the following: 

20 (1) Representatives of entities involved in the 

21 provision of video conferencing services (or a na22 tional organization representing such entities). 

23 (2) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 

24 manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 

25 capabilities for the provision of video conferencing 


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1 services (or a national organization representing 

2 such vendors, developers, or manufacturers). 

3 (3) Representatives of vendors, developers, and 

4 manufacturers of systems, facilities, equipment, and 

5 capabilities for the provision of assistive technologies 

6 used with video conferencing services (or a national 

7 organization representing such vendors, developers, 

8 or manufacturers). 

9 (4) Representatives of manufacturers of con10 sumer electronics or information technology equip11 ment engaged in the provision of video conferencing 

12 services (or a national organization representing 

13 such manufacturers). 

14 (5) Representatives of national organizations 

15 representing accessibility advocates, including people 

16 with disabilities and older Americans. 

17 (6) Representatives of service agencies engaged 

18 in the provision of captioning, interpretation serv19 ices, and visual image descriptive services for video 

20 conferencing services. 

21 (7) Representatives of providers of tele22 communications relay services. 

23 (8) Academic experts or representatives of re24 search institutions with expertise regarding ad25 vanced communication services. 


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1 (9) 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 staff of the Commission to mod5 erate and direct the work of the Advisory Committee. 

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

7 member of the technical staff of the Commission to pro8 vide technical assistance to the Advisory Committee. 

9 (f) DEVELOPMENT OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

10 (1) ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES RE11 PORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date on 

12 which the Advisory Committee first meets, the Advi13 sory Committee shall submit to the Commission a 

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

15 following: 

16 (A) A recommended schedule of deadlines 

17 for— 

18 (i) making video conferencing services 

19 and equipment accessible to individuals 

20 with disabilities; and 

21 (ii) compliance with quality metrics 

22 and thresholds for automatic closed cap23 tioning and visual image descriptive 

24 functionality that is built into video confer25 encing services and equipment. 


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1 (B) An identification of the protocols, tech2 nical capabilities, and technical procedures 

3 needed to— 

4 (i) permit video conferencing services 

5 to include built-in closed captioning 

6 functionality; and 

7 (ii) allow the interconnection of, and 

8 compatibility with, assistive technologies 

9 and services, peripheral devices, and spe10 cialized customer premises equipment com11 monly used by individuals with disabilities 

12 to achieve access. 

13 (C) A recommendation for technical stand14 ards to address the protocols, technical capabili15 ties, and technical procedures identified under 

16 subparagraph (B). 

17 (D) A recommendation for standards to be 

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

19 captioning functionality for video conferencing 

20 services facilitates effective communication. 

21 (2) CONSIDERATION OF WORK BY STANDARDS– 

22 SETTING ORGANIZATIONS.—The recommendations of 

23 the Advisory Committee contained in the report sub24 mitted under paragraph (1) shall, to the extent pos25 sible, incorporate the standards, protocols, and proVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:11 Aug 18, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00065 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4858.IH H4858

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1 cedures that have been adopted by recognized indus2 try standard-setting organizations for each of the 

3 purposes described in that paragraph. 

4 (g) MEETINGS.— 

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

6 the Advisory Committee shall take place not later 

7 than 45 days after the date on which the Chair ap8 points the members of the Advisory Committee 

9 under subsection (c). 

10 (2) OTHER MEETINGS.—After the initial meet11 ing of the Advisory Committee under paragraph (1), 

12 the Advisory Committee shall meet at the call of the 

13 Chair. 

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

15 held by the Advisory Committee shall be— 

16 (A) noticed not fewer than 14 days before 

17 the date of that meeting; and 

18 (B) open to the public. 

19 (h) PROCEDURAL RULES.— 

(1) QUORUM.—The presence of 1 20 ⁄3 of the mem21 bers of the Advisory Committee shall constitute a 

22 quorum for conducting the business of the Advisory 

23 Committee. 

24 (2) SUBCOMMITTEES.—To assist the Advisory 

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1 sory Committee, the Chair may establish appropriate 

2 subcommittees composed of members of the Advisory 

3 Committee and other subject matter experts. 

4 (3) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL RULES.—The 

5 Advisory Committee may adopt other procedural 

6 rules as needed. 

7 (i) INAPPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL ADVISORY COM8 MITTEE ACT.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

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

10 Committee or the activities of the Advisory Committee. 

11 SEC. 305. REAL-TIME TEXT. 

12 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

14 716 (47 U.S.C. 617) the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 716A. REAL-TIME TEXT. 

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

17 of this section, the Commission shall revise the regulations 

18 of the Commission to require that all interconnected and 

19 non-interconnected VoIP services, whether delivered using 

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

21 is achievable (as defined in section 716)— 

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

23 wireless and wireline VoIP services; and 


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

2 safety answering points, as defined in section 

3 222(h).’’. 

4 SEC. 306. ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES SOFT5 WARE. 

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

7 (47 U.S.C. 617(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

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

10 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this para11 graph, the Commission shall update the regulations 

12 prescribed under this subsection to require that all 

13 obligations applicable to equipment used for ad14 vanced communications services extend to software 

15 used for those services, without regard to whether 

16 that software is pre-installed on equipment used for 

17 those services.’’. 

18 TITLE IV—EMERGING 

19 TECHNOLOGY 

20 SEC. 401. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY. 

21 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (42 

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

23 following: 

24 ‘‘SEC. 723. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY. 

25 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COM2 MUNICATION.—The term ‘augmentative and alter3 native communication’ means any tool, method, tech4 nology, strategy, service, training, coaching, or other 

5 support used to supplement or replace speech. 

6 ‘‘(2) DISABILITY.—The term ‘disability’ has the 

7 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Ameri8 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

9 12102). 

10 ‘‘(b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 3 

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

12 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall, in consultation 

13 with the United States Access Board, submit to the Com14 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

15 Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of 

16 the House of Representatives a report assessing— 

17 ‘‘(1) the extent to which any accessibility bar18 riers exist for individuals with disabilities, including 

19 individuals who are blind, deaf, or DeafBlind or have 

20 low vision, an auditory processing disorder, a cor21 tical or cerebral visual impairment, a speech dis22 ability, including individuals who use augmentative 

23 and alternative communication, a mobility disability, 

24 or a cognitive disability, with respect to emerging 

25 communications and video programming technologies 


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1 and services, including communication and video 

2 programming technologies that use augmented re3 ality, virtual reality, extended reality, dual reality, 

4 spatial computing, artificial intelligence, and other 

5 advanced machine learning, wireless technologies, in6 cluding Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, robotics, the Internet 

7 of Things, and other forms of advanced computing 

8 power; and 

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

10 emerging communications and video programming 

11 technologies and services such as those described in 

12 paragraph (1)— 

13 ‘‘(A) are accessible to individuals with dis14 abilities; and 

15 ‘‘(B) provide the necessary hardware and 

16 software to achieve compatibility with periph17 eral devices or specialized customer premises 

18 equipment commonly used by individuals with 

19 disabilities to achieve access. 

20 ‘‘(c) CONSIDERATION OF EFFECT ON INDIVIDUALS

21 WITH PARTICULAR BARRIERS.—In preparing each report 

22 required under subsection (b), the Commission shall con23 sider the effect of emerging technologies on individuals 

24 with disabilities who use those technologies and have par25 ticular barriers to participation and communication with 


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1 those technologies, including individuals with disabilities 

2 using those technologies— 

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

4 English language; 

5 ‘‘(2) who have significant, targeted, or multiple 

6 disabilities, including individuals who have a speech 

7 disability, including individuals who use augment8 ative and alternative communication, individuals who 

9 are DeafBlind, and individuals who have mobility 

10 disabilities; 

11 ‘‘(3) who have disabilities limiting communica12 tion; 

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

14 technology; or 

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

16 ethnicity, national origin, age, sex, sexual orienta17 tion, gender identity, Tribal affiliation, or socio18 economic status. 

19 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after 

20 the date on which the Commission submits each report 

21 required under subsection (b), the Commission shall issue 

22 new or update existing regulations for ensuring the acces23 sibility of emerging communications and video program24 ming technologies and services by individuals with disabil25 ities where doing so is necessary to further the goals of 


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1 the statutory provisions implemented by the regulations 

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

3 47, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor regula4 tion, intended to fulfill these goals.’’. 

5 TITLE V—ENFORCEMENT AND 

6 REPORTING 

7 SEC. 501. ACCESSIBILITY ENFORCEMENT. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 503(b)(5) of the Commu9 nications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 503(b)(5)) is amended 

10 by inserting after ‘‘uses that tower’’ the following: ‘‘, or 

11 in the case of violations of this Act related to requirements 

12 of accessibility for individuals with disabilities, including 

13 violations of section 225, section 255, section 

14 276(b)(1)(A), subsections (u) through (aa) of section 303, 

15 section 330(b), section 710, section 711, section 713, or 

16 sections 715 through 719’’. 

17 (b) OTHER LAWS.—The violation of any provision of 

18 the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), 

19 as amended by this Act, related to requirements of accessi20 bility for individuals with disabilities, including a violation 

21 of section 225, section 255, section 276(b)(1)(A), sub22 sections (u) through (aa) of section 303, section 330(b), 

23 section 710, section 711, section 713, or sections 715 

24 through 719 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

25 U.S.C. 225, 255, 276(b)(1)(A), 303, 330(b), 610, 611, 


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1 613, 616, 617, 618, 619, 620), shall not be used as a 

2 basis to preclude enforcement of violations of other State 

3 or Federal disability rights and civil rights laws, including 

4 the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

5 12101 et seq.) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

6 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), stemming from the same conduct. 

7 SEC. 502. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

8 Title VII of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 

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

10 Act, is amended— 

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

12 (A) by striking subsection (b); 

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

14 and (e) as subsections (b), (c), and (d), respec15 tively; and 

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

17 by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub18 section (c)’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘SEC. 724. ACCESSIBILITY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

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

22 of this section, and every 2 years thereafter, the Commis23 sion shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

24 and Transportation of the Senate and the Committee on 


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1 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

2 a report that includes the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) The number and nature of complaints re4 ceived pursuant to subsection (u), (z), or (aa) of sec5 tion 303, section 330(b), section 713, and section 

6 716(a) during the period covered by the report. 

7 ‘‘(2) A description of the actions taken to re8 solve the complaints described in paragraph (1), in9 cluding forfeiture penalties assessed. 

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

11 Commission to resolve each such complaint. 

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

13 of each action for mandamus filed pursuant to sec14 tion 717(a)(6) and the number, status, nature, and 

15 outcome of each appeal filed pursuant to section 

16 402(b)(10).’’. 

Æ 


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