Access to Video Conferencing

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION <CFR>47 CFR Parts 14 and 64</CFR> <DEPDOC>[CG Docket Nos. 23-161, 10-213, 03-123; FCC 24-95; FR ID 268783]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Access to Video Conferencing</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Federal Communications Commission. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> In this document, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) seeks comment on whether to amend the accessibility rules for interoperable video conferencing services (IVCS) to include additional performance objectives addressing text-to-speech and speech-to-speech functionality; automatic sign-language interpretation; additional user interface control functions; access to video conferencing for people who are blind or have low vision; and access to video conference for people with cognitive or mobility disabilities. The Commission also seeks further comment on whether and how the telecommunications relay services (TRS) Fund should support team interpreting in video conferences and whether additional rules are needed to facilitate the integration and appropriate use of TRS with video conferencing. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Comments are due February 3, 2025. Reply comments are due March 3, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments, identified by CG Docket Nos. 23-161, 10-213, and 03-123 by the following method: • <E T="03">Federal Communications Commission's Website: https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings.</E> Follow the instructions for submitting comments. For detailed instructions for submitting comments and additional information on the rulemaking process, <E T="03">see</E> the <E T="02">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION</E> section of this document. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> William Wallace, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-2716, or <E T="03">William.Wallace@fcc.gov;</E> or Ike Ofobike, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, at (202) 418-1028, or <E T="03">Ike.Ofobike@fcc.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> This is a summary of the Commission's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ( <E T="03">FNPRM</E> ), document FCC 24-95, adopted on September 26, 2024, released on September 27, 2024, in CG Docket Nos. 23-161, 10-213, and 03-123. This summary is based on document FCC 24-95, the full text of which can be accessed electronically via the Commission's Electronic Document Manage System website at <E T="03">https://www.fcc.gov/edocs,</E> or via the Commission's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) website at <E T="03">https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs.</E> Pursuant to §§ 1.415 and 1.419 of the Commission's rules, 47 CFR 1.415, 1.419, interested parties may file comments and reply comments. Comments may be filed using ECFS. • <E T="03">Electronic Filers:</E> Comments may be filed electronically using the internet by accessing the ECFS: <E T="03">https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs.</E> • <E T="03">Paper Filers:</E> Parties who choose to file by paper must file an original and one copy of each filing. • Filings can be sent by hand or messenger delivery, by commercial courier, or by the U.S. Postal Service. All filings must be addressed to the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission. • Hand-delivered or messenger-delivered paper filings for the Commission's Secretary are accepted between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. by the FCC's mailing contractor at 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. All hand deliveries must be held together with rubber bands or fasteners. Any envelopes and boxes must be disposed of before entering the building. • Commercial courier deliveries (any deliveries not by the U.S. Postal Service) must be sent to 9050 Junction Drive, Annapolis Junction, MD 20701. • Filings sent by U.S. Postal Service First-Class Mail, Priority Mail, and Priority Mail Express must be sent to 45 L Street NE, Washington, DC 20554. • To request materials in accessible formats for people with disabilities (Braille, large print, electronic files, audio format), send an email to <E T="03">fcc504@fcc.gov</E> or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418-0530. <E T="03">Ex Parte Rules.</E> This proceeding shall be treated as a permit-but-disclose proceeding in accordance with the Commission's <E T="03">ex parte</E> rules. 47 CFR 1.1200 <E T="03">et seq.</E> Persons making <E T="03">ex parte</E> presentations must file a copy of any written presentation or a memorandum summarizing any oral presentation within two business days after the presentation (unless a different deadline applicable to the Sunshine period applies). Persons making oral <E T="03">ex parte</E> presentations are reminded that memoranda summarizing the presentation must (1) list all persons attending or otherwise participating in the meeting at which the <E T="03">ex parte</E> presentation was made, and (2) summarize all data presented and arguments made during the presentation. If the presentation consisted in whole or in part of the presentation of data or arguments already reflected in the presenter's written comments, memoranda, or other filings in the proceeding, the presenter may provide citations to such data or arguments in his or her prior comments, memoranda, or other filings (specifying the relevant page and/or paragraph numbers where such data or arguments can be found) in lieu of summarizing them in the memorandum. Documents shown or given to Commission staff during <E T="03">ex parte</E> meetings are deemed to be written <E T="03">ex parte</E> presentations and must be filed consistent with § 1.1206(b) of the Commission's rules. In proceedings governed by § 1.49(f) of the Commission's rules or for which the Commission has made available a method of electronic filing, written <E T="03">ex parte</E> presentations and memoranda summarizing oral <E T="03">ex parte</E> presentations, and all attachments thereto, must be filed through the electronic comment filing system available for that proceeding, and must be filed in their native format ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> .doc, .xml, .ppt, searchable .pdf). Participants in this proceeding should familiarize themselves with the Commission's <E T="03">ex parte</E> rules. <E T="03">Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act:</E> The Providing Accountability Through Transparency Act, Public Law 118-9, requires each agency, in providing notice of a rulemaking, to post online a brief plain-language summary of the proposed rule. The required summary of the <E T="03">FNPRM</E> is available at <E T="03">https://www.fcc.gov/proposed-rulemakings.</E> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Initial Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 Analysis</HD> Document FCC 24-95 may contain proposed new or modified information collection requirements. The Commission, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork burdens, invites the general public and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to comment on the information collection requirements contained in this document, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. In addition, pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107-198, <E T="03">see</E> 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission seeks specific comment on how it might further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25 employees. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Synopsis</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> 1. Under section 716 of the Communications Act, as amended (the Act), 47 U.S.C. 617, providers of advanced communications services (ACS) and manufacturers of equipment used for ACS must make such services and equipment accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, if achievable. Service providers and manufacturers may comply with section 716 of the Act either by building accessibility features into their services and equipment or by choosing to use third-party applications, peripheral devices, software, hardware, or customer premises equipment (CPE) that are available to individuals with disabilities at nominal cost. If accessibility is not achievable through either of these means, then manufacturers and service providers must make their products and services compatible with existing peripheral devices or specialized CPE commonly used by people with disabilities to achieve access, subject to the achievability criterion. The Commission is directed to adopt “performance objectives to ensure the accessibility, usability, and compatibility of advanced communications services and the equipment used for such services.” 2. The Act defines <E T="03">advanced communications services</E> as: (A) interconnected Voice over internet Protocol (VoIP) service; (B) non-interconnected VoIP service; (C) electronic messaging service; (D) interoperable video conferencing service; and (E) any audio or video communications service used by inmates for the purpose of communicating with individuals outside of the correctional facility where the inmate is held, regardless of technology used. 47 U.S.C. 153(1). <E T="03">Interoperable video conferencing service,</E> in turn, is defined as: A service that provides real-time video communications, including audio, to enable users to share information of the user's choosing. 47 U.S.C. 153(27). 3. <E T="03">Telecommunications Relay Services and Interoperable Video Conferencing Services.</E> Enacted in 1990, Title IV of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), codified as section 225 of the Act, directs the Commission to “ensure that interstate and intrastate telecommunications relay services are available, to the extent possible and in the most efficient manner,” to peo ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 71k characters. 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