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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 115 / Thursday, June 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
information to the American public identifying the foreign governmental entity that provided the programming and the foreign country with which it is affiliatedto grant what effectively would be an exemption to existing sponsorship identification rules for political programming provided by foreign governmental entities. However, the Commission determines at this time that the licensee need not provide any additional information in its OPIF, as considered in the NPRM, regarding the relationship between the foreign governmental entity and the foreign country that the foreign governmental entity represents, having no evidence to support the need for such information to enhance public disclosure at this time.
62. Finally, the Commission adopts the unopposed tentative conclusion contained in the NPRM that licensees maintain in their OPIFs the disclosures associated with foreign governmentprovided programming rather than giving them the option of maintaining such information at the network headquarters if the programming was originated by a network.
63. Concerns About Overlap with Other Statutory or Regulatory Requirements. The Commission rejects any suggestion that its foreign sponsorship identification rules are either duplicative of requirements imposed under FARA or unnecessary given the Commissions current sponsorship identification rules. Rather, as discussed above and consistent with the admonitions of commenters, the Commission adopts disclosure requirements that further the its statutory mandate to provide transparency to audiences of broadcast stations regarding the source of sponsored programming, while avoiding unnecessary duplication with the FARA
requirements.
64. As a preliminary matter, the Commission emphasizes that although the requirements laid out in the NPRM
and the instant Order look to FARA for assistance in determining what qualifies as a foreign governmental entity, section 317 of the Act and FARA each cover different types of entities with respect to their labeling requirements.
Section 317 and the Commissions sponsorship identification rules speak specifically to the obligations of licensees of broadcast stations, imposing transparency requirements regarding the origin of sponsored content as an element of the licensees stewardship of the public airwaves. In contrast, FARA
imposes an obligation on agents required to register under FARA to label materials with a conspicuous statement identifying the FARA agent and its
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principal when it is distributing relevant materials within the United States by any means or media.
Accordingly, unless the licensee of a broadcast station itself is a registered agent under FARA, the label required by FARA may not appear. Even if such labels are being passed through in some instances, as discussed above and in the NPRM, the reports about incidents of undisclosed foreign government programming indicate the need for greater action to ensure transparency.
Consistent with the Commissions own statutory mandate, the requirements adopted in the instant Order focus specifically on broadcast licensees to ensure they disclose foreign government provided-programming consistent with the intent and language of section 317
of the Act.
65. Further, as noted above, the rules the Commission adopts in this document require identification of the country associated with the foreign governmental entity that provided the programming, whereas the FARA
disclosure statement does not require this information. Rather, FARA requires identification of only the foreign principal, whose name may not identify its connection to a foreign country. In addition, while FARA requires that covered materials that are televised or broadcast, or which are caused to be televised or broadcast shall be introduced by a statement which is reasonably adapted to convey to the viewers or listeners thereof such information as is required under FARA, it does not dictate whether such information should be repeated during a broadcast or at what frequency. In contrast, the foreign sponsorship identification rules the Commission adopts in this document contain specific guidance for broadcast licensees as to the frequency and content of the required label to increase transparency and ensure audiences are aware of the foreign sources of such programming.
66. Given the key differences between the FARA requirements and those the Commission adopts in this document, the Commission rejects NPRs assertion that enforcement of 73.1212e of the Commissions rules could achieve the Commissions goals in this proceeding.
As REC Networks notes, compliance with the Commissions existing sponsorship identification rules does not currently result in the identification of a foreign government as the ultimate provider of programming to the extent this is the case.
67. Section 325c Permits. The Commission adopts the NPRMs tentative conclusion that the proposed foreign sponsorship identification rules
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should apply expressly, to the extent applicable, to any programming broadcast pursuant to a section 325c permit, in addition to U.S.-licensed broadcast stations. A section 325c permit is required when an entity produces programming in the United States but, rather than broadcasting the programming from a U.S.-licensed station, transmits or delivers the programming from a U.S. studio to a non-U.S. licensed station in a foreign country and broadcasts the programming from the foreign station with a sufficient transmission power or from a geographic location that enables the material to be received consistently in the United States.
68. The Commission finds that applying the same disclosure requirements to programming broadcast pursuant to a section 325c permit serves the public interest because, like programming from a U.S.-licensed station, programming from a section 325c station is received by audiences in the United States. In this context, the section 325c permit holder has full control over its programming content and whether and how any programming provided by foreign governmental entities should be incorporated in the programming broadcast pursuant to its section 325c permit and broadcasted by the foreign station. Accordingly, any programming agreement with a section 325c holder will be subject to the foreign sponsorship disclosure if material aired on the foreign station has been sponsored, paid for, or furnished for free as an inducement to air by a foreign governmental entity. Under the rules the Commission adopts herein, a section 325c permit holder must ensure that the foreign station will broadcast the disclosure along with the programming provided under its section 325c permit. The Commission finds that treating U.S.-licensed broadcast station licensees and section 325c permittees in the same manner with respect to foreign government-provided programming would serve the public interest and could avoid creating a potential loophole in the regulatory framework with respect to the identification of foreign governmentprovided programming.
69. The Commission received no comment on its tentative conclusion regarding programming provided pursuant to section 325c permits, including regarding whether any aspect of the foreign sponsorship identification requirements should be modified for section 325c permit holders. The Commission therefore finds no reason to depart from its tentative conclusion in this regard and find that the foreign
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