FCC Shouldn't Shift Liability for Caption Quality, Say Content Companies

Additional procedural requirements related to new closed-captioning quality rules would “do nothing to enhance quality captioning for consumers,” said content companies in a meeting with staff from the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs and Media bureau Wednesday, according to an ex parte filing posted in docket 05-231 Monday. Companies represented at the meeting included Disney, 21st Century Fox and Viacom. The FCC should “refrain from shifting liability” from providers to programmers in enforcing captioning issues, the companies said.