47 U.S.C. § 611 — Closed-captioning of public service an-

Page 325 TITLE 47—TELECOMMUNICATIONS § 612 1994—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 103–414 substituted ‘‘The Commission’’ for ‘‘The Commission shall complete rulemaking actions required by this section and issue specific and detailed rules and regulations resulting therefrom within one year after January 3, 1983. The Commission shall complete rulemaking actions re- quired to implement the amendments made by the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 within nine months after August 16, 1988. Thereafter, the Commis- sion’’. 1988—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100–394, § 3(a), amended sub- sec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (b) read as follows: ‘‘The Commission shall require that essen- tial telephones provide internal means for effective use with hearing aids that are specially designed for tele- phone use. For purposes of this subsection, the term ‘essential telephones’ means only coin-operated tele- phones, telephones provided for emergency use, and other telephones frequently needed for use by persons using such hearing aids.’’ Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 100–394, § 3(b), substituted ‘‘The Commission shall complete rulemaking actions re- quired to implement the amendments made by the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988 within nine months after August 16, 1988. Thereafter, the Commis- sion shall periodically review the regulations estab- lished pursuant to this section.’’ for ‘‘Thereafter the Commission shall periodically review such rules and regulations.’’ Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS FOR 1988 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 100–394, § 2, Aug. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 976, pro- vided that: ‘‘The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) to the fullest extent made possible by tech- nology and medical science, hearing-impaired persons should have equal access to the national tele- communications network; ‘‘(2) present technology provides effective coupling of telephones to hearing aids used by some severely hearing-impaired persons for communicating by voice telephone; ‘‘(3) anticipated improvements in both telephone and hearing aid technologies promise greater access in the future; and ‘‘(4) universal telephone service for hearing-im- paired persons will lead to greater employment op- portunities and increased productivity.’’ CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS Pub. L. 97–410, § 2, Jan. 3, 1983, 96 Stat. 2043, provided that: ‘‘The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) all persons should have available the best tele- phone service which is technologically and economi- cally feasible; ‘‘(2) currently available technology is capable of providing telephone service to some individuals who, because of hearing impairments, require telephone reception by means of hearing aids with induction coils, or other inductive receptors; ‘‘(3) the lack of technical standards ensuring com- patibility between hearing aids and telephones has prevented receipt of the best telephone service which is technologically and economically feasible; and ‘‘(4) adoption of technical standards is required in order to ensure compatibility between telephones and hearing aids, thereby accommodating the needs of in- dividuals with hearing impairments.’’ § 611. Closed-captioning of public service an- nouncements Any television public service announcement that is produced or funded in whole or in part by any agency or instrumentality of Federal Gov- ernment shall include closed captioning of the verbal content of such announcement. A tele- vision broadcast station licensee— (1) shall not be required to supply closed captioning for any such announcement that fails to include it; and (2) shall not be liable for broadcasting any such announcement without transmitting a closed caption unless the licensee inten- tionally fails to transmit the closed caption that was included with the announcement. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VII, § 711, as added Pub. L. 98–549, § 8, Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2804; amended Pub. L. 101–336, title IV, § 402, July 26, 1990, 104 Stat. 369.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1990—Pub. L. 101–336 amended section generally, sub- stituting provisions relating to closed-captioning of public service announcements for provisions relating to establishment, functions, composition, etc., of Tele- communications Policy Study Commission. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 60 days after Oct. 30, 1984, except where otherwise expressly provided, see section 9(a) of Pub. L. 98–549, set out as a note under section 521 of this title. § 612. Syndicated exclusivity (a) The Federal Communications Commission shall initiate a combined inquiry and rule- making proceeding for the purpose of— (1) determining the feasibility of imposing syndicated exclusivity rules with respect to the delivery of syndicated programming (as defined by the Commission) for private home viewing of secondary transmissions by sat- ellite of broadcast station signals similar to the rules issued by the Commission with re- spect to syndicated exclusivity and cable tele- vision; and (2) adopting such rules if the Commission considers the imposition of such rules to be feasible. (b) In the event that the Commission adopts such rules, any willful and repeated secondary transmission made by a satellite carrier to the public of a primary transmission embodying the performance or display of a work which violates such Commission rules shall be subject to the remedies, sanctions, and penalties provided by subchapter V and section 605 of this title. (June 19, 1934, ch. 652, title VII, § 712, as added Pub. L. 100–667, title II, § 203, Nov. 16, 1988, 102 Stat. 3958; amended Pub. L. 103–414, title III, § 304(a)(17), Oct. 25, 1994, 108 Stat. 4297.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–414 struck out ‘‘, within 120 days after January 1, 1989,’’ after ‘‘The Federal Communications Commission shall’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Jan. 1, 1989, see section 206 of Pub. L. 100–667, set out as a note under section 119 of Title 17, Copyrights.