CEA and Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (TDI) differ at the FCC on whether device manufacturers should be required to make products that synchronize closed captions with video delivered over the Internet and DVD and Blu-ray players that render captions, according to comments filed in docket 11-154 (http://bit.ly/1bWbMzp). A manufacturer requirement is the last step to making sure every link in the supply chain of closed captions is held responsible for making them work, said TDI. Video programming distributors are already required to maintain timing data, and the commission has an open proceeding on quality standards for TV closed captions. “The Commission should complete the chain of accountability for synchronization problems by requiring apparatuses to render captions according to the timing data included with video,” said TDI. “If every step of the delivery chain is covered by a synchronization requirement, consumers will finally be able to seek remedies when problems occur.” CEA said such rules would improperly assign the blame for caption sync problems to manufacturers. “A synchronization requirement for apparatus would implicitly assume that consumer devices somehow introduce synchronization issues into caption decoding, but CEA is unaware of any such behavior,” said CEA. If the commission does pass a rule, it should require devices to render captions according to the timing data included with the video programming, said CEA. “This ‘do no harm’ standard would mean that if a device receives properly captioned content, then it would have to appropriately decode and display, or pass through, the content and captions.” Improperly timed captions wouldn’t function on such devices, CEA said. “Viewing media with unsynchronized captions is as disruptive for a viewer who is deaf or hard of hearing as watching media with an unsynchronized audio track is for a hearing viewer,” said TDI. The consumer group said caption rules for removable media players are necessary because such devices are increasingly reliant on HDMI connections. “Because the current HDMI standard does not support the pass-through of caption data, captions cannot be viewed using an HDMI-only player if the player does not render the captions,” said TDI. However, CEA said DVD and Blu-ray already support subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, and therefore already comply with the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. “Because streamed media is increasingly prominent in the consumer marketplace, additional regulations on removable media players will simply raise costs for consumers and hasten the decline of removable media technology,” said CEA. The trade association and copy protection company Advanced Access Content System Licensing Administrator both also argued against a proposal in the FNPRM that would require removable media players to include an analog connection to properly display captions.

Tom Wheeler was sworn in Monday as chairman of the FCC and Michael O'Rielly to the open Republican slot on the commission. Wheeler, who had all summer to think about first steps as chairman, almost immediately appointed his top staff at the agency, starting with Ruth Milkman as chief of staff (http://fcc.us/HFgesN). Industry observers said the choice of Milkman, who was Wireless Bureau chief, signals continuity on one of the top issues Wheeler faces, the incentive auction of broadcast TV spectrum. Several of those appointed worked for Wheeler in the past and most came from jobs where past entanglements are unlikely to pose ethics issues.

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general found that a year after the department’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C) reorganized its internal structure, it “still faces challenges in sharing cyber threat information with other federal cyber operations centers.” CS&C, part of DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), reorganized in October 2012 to improve the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center’s functionality, the DHS IG said in a report made public Monday. NCCIC has since enhanced partnerships with other federal cyberoperations centers to address specific incidents and increased interagency collaboration, the report said. The NCCIC also collaborated with the FBI and other public and private partners to release Joint Indicator Bulletins related to cyberthreats and conducted drills to improve cyberoperations centers’ capabilities and plans, the report said. But NPPD needs to address tech and workforce deficiencies -- issues NPPD told the IG it is working to improve (http://1.usa.gov/1a3ndpB).

The Department of Homeland Security inspector general found that a year after the department’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications (CS&C) reorganized its internal structure, it “still faces challenges in sharing cyber threat information with other federal cyber operations centers.” CS&C, part of DHS’s National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD), reorganized in October 2012 to improve the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center’s functionality, the DHS IG said in a report made public Monday. NCCIC has since enhanced partnerships with other federal cyberoperations centers to address specific incidents and increased interagency collaboration, the report said. The NCCIC also collaborated with the FBI and other public and private partners to release Joint Indicator Bulletins related to cyberthreats and conducted drills to improve cyberoperations centers’ capabilities and plans, the report said. But NPPD needs to address tech and workforce deficiencies -- issues NPPD told the IG it is working to improve (http://1.usa.gov/1a3ndpB).

A draft rulemaking notice proposes ending the FCC’s 38-year-old sports blackout rule, said agency officials in interviews Friday. Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn on Friday, her last business day before Tom Wheeler is to start as permanent chairman (CD Oct 31 p1), said she circulated a rulemaking notice to address the rule. Several nonprofits and groups saying they represent fans sought a proceeding to change the rule in 2011 (CD Nov 15/11 p3), with the NAB, NFL and affiliate groups of three of big four broadcast networks opposing the change. Some backing the rule change think the NPRM will be approved without much controversy within the FCC, while a foe said he’s not so sure that will be the case.

The FCC Media Bureau approved a station transaction in Alaska over the objections of broadcasters who had argued the deal would create a monopoly and raise concerns comparable to the Comcast/NBCUniversal merger, said an FCC order released Wednesday afternoon. Cable operator General Communications Inc. (GCI) will acquire the licenses to KTVA(TV), Anchorage, and low-powers KATH-LD, Juneau-Douglas, and KSCT-LP, Sitka, from an affiliate of Media News Group. A coalition of Alaskan broadcasters had filed numerous petitions (CD Feb 22 p17) asking the commission to deny the transaction because of GCI’s unique market position and how it might affect retransmission negotiations and local journalism. GCI’s lines pass 90 percent of all Alaska television households and it doesn’t face much competition from direct broadcast satellite providers because of “the unique geographic terrain of Alaska,” the order said. However, the broadcaster objections were “more appropriate for industry-wide proceedings, are unsupported, or are otherwise speculative with regard to future harms,” said the order. “We find that the Applications do not propose a transaction that would violate” FCC rules, the order said. The transaction “would not accord GCI with the leverage necessary to force a top-four television network to drop other affiliates, allow a network bypass, or diminish existing exclusivity rights with other affiliates,” said the order. The Media Bureau said allegations that the consolidation would affect journalistic independence are “speculative and based on hearsay.” The First Amendment and Section 326 of the Communications Act “bar us from withholding approval of a transaction based on a change in editorial perspective,” the bureau said.

The incipient Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations must secure all inclusive tariff elimination between the U.S. and European Union (EU) in a final pact, while making inroads towards regulatory harmonization, Senate and industry leaders on Oct. 30 told a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the trade pact (here). Should the U.S. and EU broker comprehensive tariff elimination, the deal could boost U.S. exports to the EU by a third, adding $100 billion annually in U.S. Gross Domestic Product and creating hundreds of thousands of domestic jobs, said Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., in opening remarks.

The House Homeland Security Committee approved two Department of Homeland Security-centric cybersecurity bills Tuesday, sending them to the full House for consideration. The committee approved the bills -- the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act (HR-2952) and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (HR-3107) -- on voice votes with amendments. The bills had received unanimous support from the House Cybersecurity Subcommittee in September (CD Sept 19 p20).

The House Homeland Security Committee approved two Department of Homeland Security-centric cybersecurity bills Tuesday, sending them to the full House for consideration. The committee approved the bills -- the Critical Infrastructure Research and Development Advancement Act (HR-2952) and the Homeland Security Cybersecurity Boots-on-the-Ground Act (HR-3107) -- on voice votes with amendments. The bills had received unanimous support from the House Cybersecurity Subcommittee in September (WID Sept 19 p9).

The Senate Finance Committee should resolve the questions on antidumping and countervailing duty enforcement and work to get customs reauthorization legislation to the Senate floor this year, wrote a group of media and other companies and associations to committee leaders. Thursday’s letter to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, emphasized the importance of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Reauthorization Act of 2013. The S-662 bill has stalled over disagreement on how to handle and update some duty enforcement. The letter writers would like the committee to mark up “and move this bipartisan legislation to the Senate floor this year,” wrote Comcast’s NBCUniversal, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Viacom, Walmart and others (http://uscham.com/17o2zmx). The legislation would make important updates to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s abilities to deal with imports that violate intellectual property laws, they said. Industries that rely on IP protections make up a significant amount of U.S. jobs and exports, but “American creativity, innovation, and respected brands are under attack by those who seek to profit by illegally copying and distributing goods into the U.S. marketplace or into other markets around the world,” the letter said. “To combat this massive threat, this bill would provide appropriate legal authority and resources to CBP and ICE. This bill would also promote collaboration by these agencies with rights holders and provide authorization for the National IPR [Intellectual Property Rights] Coordination Center.” The customs bill would also set an important “benchmark” as negotiations continue on various trade agreements, said the letter. With the World Trade Organization working on “completing a global Trade Facilitation Agreement and both the Transpacific Partnership” and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations “focused on raising the global standards for supply chains, customs, and trade facilitation, the timing of this legislation is critical,” it said.