CEA, NCTA, ESA Get FCC ACS Waivers
The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau issued three waivers of new FCC accessibility rules, an order released by the bureau Monday said (http://xrl.us/bnui3c). The NCTA, CEA and Entertainment Software Association (ESA) each sought waivers of certain elements of the new advanced communications services (ACS) accessibility requirements that were set to become effective Oct. 8, 2013. The CGB order granted each waiver but set an earlier expiration date than the parties had sought.
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CEA and NCTA each wanted a waiver until July 1, 2016, to begin complying with the rules, which require services like VoIP or video conferencing to be accessible on devices that have not traditionally included them such as Internet Protocol TV sets, set-top boxes and game consoles. ESA had sought an eight-year waiver to Oct. 8, 2021. The FCC had implemented the rules under the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.
The bureau’s action struck a very careful balance of industry interests, the Act and consumer interests, said Julie Kearney, CEA vice president-regulatory affairs. “We're pleased that they gave us the time we need,” she said. “I think everyone will be better for it.” The communications components of videogames and consoles are ancillary to their primary function, said ESA General Counsel Christian Genetski. “Congress directed the FCC to adopt rules to make equipment and services designed primarily for advanced communications more accessible,” he said. “The video game industry will continue to support many voluntary measures to broaden access to our entertainment products."
The CEA waiver should help manufacturers “apply the experience gained from designing accessibility in other products” where ACS is a primary or co-primary function, “to the development and implementation of accessibility in features in video devices” that are the subject of the waiver, the order said. Limiting the waiver’s duration was justified “by the rapid pace by which changes in communications and video technology are resulting in the convergence of multiple functions in single devices,” it said. The NCTA waiver will let leased set-top boxes out of the requirements for the same period of time. “Although consumers may be able to use some cable set-top boxes for ACS to a limited extent, presently such devices are designed primarily for the purpose of receiving video signals,” the order said. During the waiver period, certain record-keeping obligations related to ACS accessibility will also be waived, it said.
ESA, which sought a waiver for game consoles, game software and online game play services, deserves its requested waivers, but for a much shorter period of time than requested, the order said. “Given the current trajectory of integration and the use of ACS in gaming systems, granting waivers beyond Oct. 8, 2015 at this point is outweighed by the public interest and congressional intent to ensure Americans with disabilities have access to advanced communications technologies."
Access to IP-based communication services, including on multipurpose equipment, was a goal of the Act, said Andrew Phillips, a staff attorney at the National Association for the Deaf. “The NAD is disappointed that these broad class waiver requests were granted as it is our position that these waivers include many equipment and services where ACS is already a co-primary purpose,” he said. “However we appreciate the FCC limited these waiver periods to two years and indicated an expectation to that the petitioners make plans to achieve accessibility.”