User Interfaces FNPRM Said To Indicate Further FCC Action on Accessibility
An item on accessibility for user interfaces released Friday (see 1511200071) includes a Further NPRM that some industry officials told us is an indication the FCC will pursue a rulemaking requiring multichannel video programming distributors and set-top box makers to make it possible for users to “readily access” settings that control the size, color and placement of closed captions. “We believe that public interest considerations weigh in favor of adopting” such rules, said the FNPRM.
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The proposals are considered extremely burdensome by carriers and set-top box makers, an industry attorney told us. Along with the FNPRM, the item included a second report and order on accessibility for navigation devices, governing how MVPDs inform customers of accessibility options, and an order on reconsideration on using voice or gesture controls to activate closed captions. Entities must comply with the rules by Dec. 20, 2016, the item said.
The second report and order requires on-screen text menus and other visual aspects of devices to be usable by the blind and visually impaired, and requires device manufacturers to provide consumer notification about accessibility information. It also requires MVPDs and manufacturers to have personnel as contact points for the public to be able “to answer both general and specific questions about the availability of accessible equipment.”
Commissioner Ajit Pai, who approved part of the item and concurred in part, questioned whether the FCC has the authority to apply the information and training rules to navigation devices because of differing language in the portion of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) governing them. That section doesn’t have the same usability requirements as other sections, he said. “While it might make sense from a policy perspective to regulate section 204 apparatus and section 205 navigation devices similarly, Congress chose to include certain requirements in section 204 that are nowhere to be found in section 205, and I believe that our regulations should reflect that fact,” said Pai in a statement released with the order.
The recon order is a compromise between the requests of consumer groups such as Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and industry-side groups like NCTA (see 1511160058). As requested by the consumer groups, voice controls aren't by themselves considered equivalent to the “button, key or icon” required by the FCC to provide access to closed captions “due to the difficulty many people who are deaf and hard of hearing would encounter in using such an activation mechanism,” the order said. But a gesture control can be the sole means, if it's “simple and easy to use,” the order said. Consumer groups opposed either voice or gesture controls filling that role. "TDI is extremely pleased that the Commission agreed to clarify its rules regarding when voice control is the sole means of activation for closed captioning,” said Executive Director Claude Stout.
The order doesn’t require carriers to include more detailed program information for public, educational and governmental channels in programming guides. “Such a requirement is outside the scope” of the CVAA, the order said. "We encourage MVPDs to provide more detailed information in their program guides for PEG programs when such information is provided by PEG providers and when it is technically feasible,” the order said. The commission’s choice not to require programming information for PEG channels was disappointing, Stout emailed. “We respectfully disagree that accessibility of the content be confined to only within the video programming itself. We will continue to work with our allies and the Commission on this topic."
The FNPRM issued with the item seeks comment on commission authority to adopt rules for user display settings for captions under the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 (TDCA). The MVPD industry is concerned the FCC could exceed its authority by doing so, an industry official told us. TDCA “mandates that the Commission take steps to ensure that closed captioning service continues to be available to consumers,” the FNPRM said. “Enabling viewers who are deaf and hard of hearing to set caption display features, such as colors, fonts, sizes, and backgrounds, will ensure that such individuals can benefit fully from digital television technologies.” The FNPRM also seeks comment on how and when such rules should be implemented, and the costs and impacts of the proposals, and possible responsibility for new requirements. “Should both manufacturers and MVPDs be obligated to facilitate the ability of consumers to locate and control closed captioning display settings?” asked the FNPRM.