Closed captioning is getting some attention at the commission.
The rules, which went into effect nearly 20 years ago, have been updated to clarify how consumer complaints should be handled as well as quality control issues.
Until 2014, watching closed captioned television was difficult, an FCC official said during the commission’s open meeting on Thursday. Captions were often inaccurate, incomplete and not synchronized with the video.
But captions are important as some 36 million Americans with some degree of hearing loss depend on them.
The order adopted Thursday clarifies when a program originator and when a distributor (such as cable or satellite companies) are responsible for fixing a closed captioning issue and improves complaint procedures.
