FCC Moves To Drop 2 Public File Rules

The FCC Wednesday proposed to eliminate two public inspection file rules. According to TV NewsCheck, these rules currently require:

• Commercial television and radio broadcast stations to retain, and make available to the public, copies of correspondence from viewers and listeners; and
• Cable operators to maintain and allow public inspection of the location of a cable system’s principal headend.  

The commission adopted online public file rules for broadcast television licensees in 2012, moving television public files that previously were retained at stations’ local main studios to an online, commission-hosted database. TV broadcasters completed their transition to the online file in July 2014.

Modernizing the filing process, the FCC said, made it easier for consumers to access information about their broadcast services without having to travel to the station’s main studio and reduced the cost of broadcaster compliance.

Last January, the commission expanded the move to online filing to cable, radio and satellite operators.

The commission said today’s proposed elimination of these rules “will reduce regulatory burdens on commercial broadcasters and cable operators without adversely affecting the general public.”