dreamproit/uscode huggingface dataset:
47 U.S.C. § 257 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 257. Market entry barriers proceeding
(a) Elimination of barriers
Within 15 months after February 8, 1996, the Commission shall complete a proceeding for the purpose of identifying and eliminating, by regulations pursuant to its authority under this chapter (other than this section), market entry barriers for entrepreneurs and other small businesses in the provision and ownership of telecommunications services and information services, or in the provision of parts or services to providers of telecommunications services and information services.
(b) National policy
In carrying out subsection (a), the Commission shall seek to promote the policies and purposes of this chapter favoring diversity of media voices, vigorous economic competition, technological advancement, and promotion of the public interest, convenience, and necessity.
(c) Periodic review
Every 3 years following the completion of the proceeding required by subsection (a), the Commission shall review and report to Congress on—
(1) any regulations prescribed to eliminate barriers within its jurisdiction that are identified under subsection (a) and that can be prescribed consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity; and
(2) the statutory barriers identified under subsection (a) that the Commission recommends be eliminated, consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 257, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 101(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 77.)
heading: References in Text
text: This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b), was in the original “this Act”, meaning act June 19, 1934, ch. 652, 48 Stat. 1064, known as the Communications Act of 1934, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 609 of this title and Tables.
47 U.S.C. § 258 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 258. Illegal changes in subscriber carrier selections
(a) Prohibition
No telecommunications carrier shall submit or execute a change in a subscriber’s selection of a provider of telephone exchange service or telephone toll service except in accordance with such verification procedures as the Commission shall prescribe. Nothing in this section shall preclude any State commission from enforcing such procedures with respect to intrastate services.
(b) Liability for charges
Any telecommunications carrier that violates the verification procedures described in subsection (a) and that collects charges for telephone exchange service or telephone toll service from a subscriber shall be liable to the carrier previously selected by the subscriber in an amount equal to all charges paid by such subscriber after such violation, in accordance with such procedures as the Commission may prescribe. The remedies provided by this subsection are in addition to any other remedies available by law.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 258, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 101(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 77.)
47 U.S.C. § 260 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 260. Provision of telemessaging service
(a) Nondiscrimination safeguards
Any local exchange carrier subject to the requirements of section 251(c) of this title that provides telemessaging service—
(1) shall not subsidize its telemessaging service directly or indirectly from its telephone exchange service or its exchange access; and
(2) shall not prefer or discriminate in favor of its telemessaging service operations in its provision of telecommunications services.
(b) Expedited consideration of complaints
The Commission shall establish procedures for the receipt and review of complaints concerning violations of subsection (a) or the regulations thereunder that result in material financial harm to a provider of telemessaging service. Such procedures shall ensure that the Commission will make a final determination with respect to any such complaint within 120 days after receipt of the complaint. If the complaint contains an appropriate showing that the alleged violation occurred, the Commission shall, within 60 days after receipt of the complaint, order the local exchange carrier and any affiliates to cease engaging in such violation pending such final determination.
(c) “Telemessaging service” defined
As used in this section, the term “telemessaging service” means voice mail and voice storage and retrieval services, any live operator services used to record, transcribe, or relay messages (other than telecommunications relay services), and any ancillary services offered in combination with these services.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title II, § 260, as added Pub. L. 104–104, title I, § 101(a), Feb. 8, 1996, 110 Stat. 79.)
47 U.S.C. § 303a (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 303a. Standards for children’s television programming
(a) Establishment
The Commission shall, within 30 days after October 18, 1990, initiate a rulemaking proceeding to prescribe standards applicable to commercial television broadcast licensees with respect to the time devoted to commercial matter in conjunction with children’s television programming. The Commission shall, within 180 days after October 18, 1990, complete the rulemaking proceeding and prescribe final standards that meet the requirements of subsection (b).
(b) Advertising duration limitations
Except as provided in subsection (c), the standards prescribed under subsection (a) shall include the requirement that each commercial television broadcast licensee shall limit the duration of advertising in children’s television programming to not more than 10.5 minutes per hour on weekends and not more than 12 minutes per hour on weekdays.
(c) Review of advertising duration limitations; modification
After January 1, 1993, the Commission—
(1) may review and evaluate the advertising duration limitations required by subsection (b); and
(2) may, after notice and public comment and a demonstration of the need for modification of such limitations, modify such limitations in accordance with the public interest.
(d) “Commercial television broadcast licensee” defined
As used in this section, the term “commercial television broadcast licensee” includes a cable operator, as defined in section 522 of this title.
(Pub. L. 101–437, title I, § 102, Oct. 17, 1990, 104 Stat. 996.)
heading: Codification
text: Section was enacted as part of the Children’s Television Act of 1990, and not as part of the Communications Act of 1934 which comprises this chapter.
heading: Congressional Findings
text: Pub. L. 101–437, title I, § 101, Oct. 17, 1990, 104 Stat. 996, provided that:
“The Congress finds that—
“(1) it has been clearly demonstrated that television can assist children to learn important information, skills, values, and behavior, while entertaining them and exciting their curiosity to learn about the world around them;
“(2) as part of their obligation to serve the public interest, television station operators and licensees should provide programming that serves the special needs of children;
“(3) the financial support of advertisers assists in the provision of programming to children;
“(4) special safeguards are appropriate to protect children from overcommercialization on television;
“(5) television station operators and licensees should follow practices in connection with children’s television programming and advertising that take into consideration the characteristics of this child audience; and
“(6) it is therefore necessary that the Federal Communications Commission (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Commission’) take the actions required by this title [enacting sections 303a and 303b of this title].”
47 U.S.C. § 303b (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 303b. Consideration of children’s television service in broadcast license renewal
(a) After the standards required by section 303a of this title are in effect, the Commission shall, in its review of any application for renewal of a commercial or noncommercial television broadcast license, consider the extent to which the licensee—
(1) has complied with such standards; and
(2) has served the educational and informational needs of children through the licensee’s overall programming, including programming specifically designed to serve such needs.
(b) In addition to consideration of the licensee’s programming as required under subsection (a), the Commission may consider—
(1) any special nonbroadcast efforts by the licensee which enhance the educational and informational value of such programming to children; and
(2) any special efforts by the licensee to produce or support programming broadcast by another station in the licensee’s marketplace which is specifically designed to serve the educational and informational needs of children.
(Pub. L. 101–437, title I, § 103, Oct. 17, 1990, 104 Stat. 997; Pub. L. 102–356, § 15, Aug. 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 954; Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 303(c), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4296.)
heading: Codification
text: Section was enacted as part of the Children’s Television Act of 1990, and not as part of the Communications Act of 1934 which comprises this chapter.
heading: Amendments
text: 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–414 substituted “noncommercial” for “noncommerical”.
1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–356 inserted reference to commercial or noncommercial television broadcast licenses.
47 U.S.C. § 303c (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 303c. Television program improvement
(a) Short title
This section may be cited as the “Television Program Improvement Act of 1990”.
(b) Definitions
For purposes of this section—
(1) the term “antitrust laws” has the meaning given it in subsection (a) of section 12 of title 15, except that such term includes section 45 of title 15 to the extent that section 45 of title 15 applies to unfair methods of competition;
(2) the term “person in the television industry” means a television network, any entity which produces programming (including theatrical motion pictures) for telecasting or telecasts programming, the National Cable Television Association, the Association of Independent Television Stations, Incorporated, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Community Antenna Television Association, and each of the networks’ affiliate organizations, and shall include any individual acting on behalf of such person; and
(3) the term “telecast” means—
(A) to broadcast by a television broadcast station; or
(B) to transmit by a cable television system or a satellite television distribution service.
(c) Exemption
The antitrust laws shall not apply to any joint discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement by or among persons in the television industry for the purpose of, and limited to, developing and disseminating voluntary guidelines designed to alleviate the negative impact of violence in telecast material.
(d) Limitations
(1) The exemption provided in subsection (c) shall not apply to any joint discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement which results in a boycott of any person.
(2) The exemption provided in subsection (c) shall apply only to any joint discussion, consideration, review, action, or agreement engaged in only during the 3-year period beginning on December 1, 1990.
(Pub. L. 101–650, title V, § 501, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5127.)
heading: Codification
text: Section was enacted as part of the Television Program Improvement Act of 1990 and also as part of the Judicial Improvements Act of 1990, and not as part of the Communications Act of 1934 which comprises this chapter.
47 U.S.C. § 334 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 334. Limitation on revision of equal employment opportunity regulations
(a) Limitation
Except as specifically provided in this section, the Commission shall not revise—
(1) the regulations concerning equal employment opportunity as in effect on September 1, 1992 (47 C.F.R. 73.2080) as such regulations apply to television broadcast station licensees and permittees; or
(2) the forms used by such licensees and permittees to report pertinent employment data to the Commission.
(b) Midterm review
The Commission shall revise the regulations described in subsection (a) to require a midterm review of television broadcast station licensees’ employment practices and to require the Commission to inform such licensees of necessary improvements in recruitment practices identified as a consequence of such review.
(c) Authority to make technical revisions
The Commission may revise the regulations described in subsection (a) to make nonsubstantive technical or clerical revisions in such regulations as necessary to reflect changes in technology, terminology, or Commission organization.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 334, as added Pub. L. 102–385, § 22(f), Oct. 5, 1992, 106 Stat. 1499.)
heading: Effective Date
text: Section effective 60 days after Oct. 5, 1992, see section 28 of Pub. L. 102–385, set out as an Effective Date of 1992 Amendment note under section 325 of this title.
47 U.S.C. § 341 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 341. Carriage of television signals to certain subscribers
(a)
(1) In General.—
A cable operator or satellite carrier may elect to retransmit, to subscribers in an eligible county—
(A) any television broadcast stations that are located in the State in which the county is located and that any cable operator or satellite carrier was retransmitting to subscribers in the county on January 1, 2004; or
(B) up to 2 television broadcast stations located in the State in which the county is located, if the number of television broadcast stations that the cable operator or satellite carrier is authorized to carry under paragraph (1) is less than 3.
(2) Deemed Significantly Viewed.—
A station described in subsection (a) is deemed to be significantly viewed in the eligible county within the meaning of section 76.54 of the Commission’s regulations (47 CFR 76.54).
(3) Definition of Eligible County.—
For purposes of this section, the term “eligible county” means any 1 of 4 counties that—
(A) are all in a single State;
(B) on January 1, 2004, were each in designated market areas in which the majority of counties were located in another State or States; and
(C) as a group had a combined total of 41,340 television households according to the U.S. Television Household Estimates by Nielsen Media Research for 2003–2004.
(4) Limitation.—
Carriage of a station under this section shall be at the option of the cable operator or satellite carrier.
(b) Certain Markets.—
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a satellite carrier may not carry the signal of a television station into an adjacent local market that is comprised of only a portion of a county, other than to unserved households located in that county.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 341, as added Pub. L. 108–447, div. J, title IX [title II, § 211], Dec. 8, 2004, 118 Stat. 3430.)
47 U.S.C. § 393 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 393. Criteria for approval and expenditures by Secretary
(a) Construction and planning grants
The Secretary, in consultation with the Corporation, public telecommunications entities, and as appropriate with others, shall establish criteria for making construction and planning grants. Such criteria shall be consistent with the objectives and provisions set forth in this subpart, and shall be made available to interested parties upon request.
(b) Basis for determination
The Secretary shall base determinations of whether to approve applications for grants under this subpart, and the amount of such grants, on criteria developed pursuant to subsection (a) and designed to achieve—
(1) the provision of new telecommunications facilities to extend service to areas currently not receiving public telecommunications services;
(2) the expansion of the service areas of existing public telecommunications entities;
(3) the development of public telecommunications facilities owned by, operated by, and available to minorities and women; and
(4) the improvement of the capabilities of existing public broadcast stations to provide public telecommunications services, including services to underserved audiences such as deaf and hearing impaired individuals and blind and visually impaired individuals.
(c) Noncommercial radio broadcast station facilities
Of the sums appropriated pursuant to section 391 of this title for any fiscal year, a substantial amount shall be available for the expansion and development of noncommercial radio broadcast station facilities.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 393, as added Pub. L. 87–447, May 1, 1962, 76 Stat. 66; amended Pub. L. 90–129, title II, § 201(2), Nov. 7, 1967, 81 Stat. 367; Pub. L. 95–567, title I, § 104, Nov. 2, 1978, 92 Stat. 2408; Pub. L. 99–272, title V, § 5001(b), Apr. 7, 1986, 100 Stat. 117; Pub. L. 102–356, § 3, Aug. 26, 1992, 106 Stat. 949.)
heading: Amendments
text: 1992—Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 102–356 inserted before period at end “, including services to underserved audiences such as deaf and hearing impaired individuals and blind and visually impaired individuals”.
1986—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 99–272 redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) relating to extension of services to new areas.
1978—Pub. L. 95–567 amended section generally, striking out provisions dealing with keeping records and access to records by Secretary and Comptroller General and inserting provisions dealing with criteria for approval and expenditures by Secretary. See sections 392(h) and 395(h) of this title.
1967—Pub. L. 90–129 substituted “subpart” for “part” wherever appearing.
heading: Effective Date of 1978 Amendment
text: Amendment by Pub. L. 95–567 effective Nov. 2, 1978, see section 403 of Pub. L. 95–567, set out as a note under section 390 of this title.
47 U.S.C. § 399b (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 399b. Offering of certain services, facilities, or products by public broadcast station
(a) “Advertisement” defined
For purposes of this section, the term “advertisement” means any message or other programming material which is broadcast or otherwise transmitted in exchange for any remuneration, and which is intended—
(1) to promote any service, facility, or product offered by any person who is engaged in such offering for profit;
(2) to express the views of any person with respect to any matter of public importance or interest; or
(3) to support or oppose any candidate for political office.
(b) Offering of services, facilities, or products permitted; advertisements prohibited
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), each public broadcast station shall be authorized to engage in the offering of services, facilities, or products in exchange for remuneration.
(2) No public broadcast station may make its facilities available to any person for the broadcasting of any advertisement.
(c) Use of funds from offering services, etc.
Any public broadcast station which engages in any offering specified in subsection (b)(1) may not use any funds distributed by the Corporation under section 396(k) of this title to defray any costs associated with such offering. Any such offering by a public broadcast station shall not interfere with the provision of public telecommunications services by such station.
(d) Development of accounting system
Each public broadcast station which engages in the activity specified in subsection (b)(1) shall, in consultation with the Corporation, develop an accounting system which is designed to identify any amounts received as remuneration for, or costs related to, such activities under this section, and to account for such amounts separately from any other amounts received by such station from any source.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title III, § 399B, as added Pub. L. 97–35, title XII, § 1231, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 731.)
47 U.S.C. § 415 (TELECOMMUNICATIONS)
§ 415. Limitations of actions
(a) Recovery of charges by carrier
All actions at law by carriers for recovery of their lawful charges, or any part thereof, shall be begun within two years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after.
(b) Recovery of damages
All complaints against carriers for the recovery of damages not based on overcharges shall be filed with the Commission within two years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, subject to subsection (d) of this section.
(c) Recovery of overcharges
For recovery of overcharges action at law shall be begun or complaint filed with the Commission against carriers within two years from the time the cause of action accrues, and not after, subject to subsection (d) of this section, except that if claim for the overcharge has been presented in writing to the carrier within the two-year period of limitation said period shall be extended to include two years from the time notice in writing is given by the carrier to the claimant of disallowance of the claim, or any part or parts thereof, specified in the notice.
(d) Extension
If on or before expiration of the period of limitation in subsection (b) or (c) a carrier begins action under subsection (a) for recovery of lawful charges in respect of the same service, or, without beginning action, collects charges in respect of that service, said period of limitation shall be extended to include ninety days from the time such action is begun or such charges are collected by the carrier.
(e) Accrual of cause of action for transmission of message
The cause of action in respect of the transmission of a message shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to accrue upon delivery or tender of delivery thereof by the carrier, and not after.
(f) Enforcement petition
A petition for the enforcement of an order of the Commission for the payment of money shall be filed in the district court or the State court within one year from the date of the order, and not after.
(g) “Overcharges” defined
The term “overcharges” as used in this section shall be deemed to mean charges for services in excess of those applicable thereto under the schedules of charges lawfully on file with the Commission.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title IV, § 415, 48 Stat. 1099; Pub. L. 93–507, Nov. 30, 1974, 88 Stat. 1577.)
heading: Amendments
text: 1974—Subsecs. (a) to (c). Pub. L. 93–507 amended subsecs. (a) to (c) generally, substituting reference to two years for reference to one year wherever appearing.