FCC Adopts New Closed Captioning Rules

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules requiring broadcast television stations to provide: 1) the name, phone number and e-mail address of a staff person capable of handling "immediate" captioning problems during normal business hours (such as technical issues); and 2) the name, phone number and e-mail address of the staff person "with primary responsibility" for captioning issues generally and for handling complaints. The contact information must be posted on the station's Web site and filed with the chief of the FCC's Disability Rights Office. With the info, the FCC will create a database of TV station contacts on its Web site. Under the new rules, a closed captioning complaint may be filed initially (by e-mail, fax, or letter) within 60 days with either the TV station (or third-party programming creator) or with the FCC. If a complaint is filed with the FCC, the agency will forward it to the TV station. In either case, the station gets just 30 days to respond. If a complaint is filed with a TV station regarding programming over which it does not exercise "editorial control" (i.e., some third-party distributor), then the TV station must forward the complaint to the "appropriate party" within seven days and that party shall respond within 30 days of the forwarding date.