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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 115 / Thursday, June 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
source of programming heard or viewed by the American public.
76. Regulatory Flexibility Act. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980 RFA, as amended, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Certification was incorporated into the NPRM. Pursuant to the RFA, the Commission has prepared a Final Regulatory Flexibility Certification relating to this Report and Order.
77. Paperwork Reduction Act. This Report and Order contains proposed new or revised information collection requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104
13 44 U.S.C. 35013520. The requirements will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget OMB for review under section 3507d of the PRA. OMB, the general public, and other Federal agencies will be invited to comment on the new or modified information collection requirements contained in this proceeding. In addition, the Commission notes that pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107198, see 44 U.S.C.
3506c4, the Commission previously sought specific comment on how the Commission might further reduce the information collection burden for small business concerns with fewer than 25
employees.
78. Congressional Review Act. The Commission has determined, and Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, concurs, that this rule is non-major under the Congressional Review Act, 5
U.S.C. 8042. The Commission will send a copy of this Report & Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 801a1A. The Commission will send a copy of this Report and Order to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to 5
U.S.C. 801a1A.
79. Final Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis. As required by the Regulatory Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended RFA, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis IRFA was incorporated in the NPRM in this proceeding. The Federal Communications Commission Commission sought written public comment on the proposals in the NPRM, including comment on the IRFA. The Commission received no comments on the IRFA. This present Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis FRFA conforms to the RFA.
80. Need for, and Objectives of, the Proposed Rules. As stated in the IRFA, broadcast programming viewers and listeners deserve to know when a
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foreign governmental entity has provided programming so that they can better evaluate the value and accuracy of such programming. Broadcast stations are entrusted with using the public airwaves to benefit their local communities and this obligation includes ensuring that any foreign government-provided programming is clearly identified. The rules the Commission adopts in this document update its sponsorship identification rules to provide specific guidance on the language and frequency of the necessary disclosures, provide clarity about how to identify a foreign governmental entity, and specify the steps broadcasters should take to ensure compliance with the reasonable diligence standard contained in section 317c of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended Act.
81. While the NPRM proposed that the foreign sponsorship identification rules would apply in any circumstance in which a foreign governmental entity directly or indirectly provided material for broadcast or furnished material to a station free of charge or at nominal cost as an inducement to broadcast such material, the Report and Order R&O narrows the rule to address specifically those circumstances in which a foreign governmental entity is programming a U.S. broadcast station pursuant to the lease of airtime. The rules adopted in the R&O require a specific disclosure at the time of broadcast if material aired pursuant to the lease of time on the station has been sponsored, paid for, or, in the case of political programming or programming involving a controversial issue, furnished for free as an inducement to air by a foreign governmental entity.
The focus on leasing agreements narrows the application of the disclosure rules significantly, thereby minimizing the burden on broadcasters while ensuring that viewers and listeners are sufficiently informed as to the origin of material broadcast on stations when foreign governmental entities are providing programming. For example, the Commission anticipates that most, and possibly all, NCE station programming arrangements will fall outside the ambit of the rules given limitations on the ability of NCE
stations to engage in leasing agreements.
The foreign sponsorship identification rules apply to any programming broadcast pursuant to a section 325c permit. 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
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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.
82. The R&O defines foreign governmental entities by referring to existing statutory definitions included in the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended FARA and the Communications Act. The definition adopted in the R&O includes:
1 A government of a foreign country as defined by FARA;
2 A foreign political party as defined by FARA;
3 An individual or entity registered as an agent of a foreign principal, under section 611c of FARA, whose foreign principal is a government of a foreign country, a foreign political party, or is directly or indirectly operated, supervised, directed, owned, controlled, financed, or subsidized by a government of a foreign country or by a foreign political party as defined by FARA, and that is acting in its capacity as an agent of such foreign principal;
4 An entity meeting the definition of a U.S.-based foreign media outlet pursuant to section 722 of the Act that has filed a report with the Commission.
83. Based on broadcaster concerns regarding the difficulty of determining whether an entity is a foreign mission as included in the proposed definition of foreign governmental entity, the final definition the Commission adopts in this R&O excludes foreign missions.
84. The revised required standard foreign sponsorship identification disclosure must state:
The following/preceding programming was sponsored, paid for, or furnished, either in whole or in part, by name of foreign governmental entity on behalf of name of foreign country.

In establishing this disclosure language, the R&O first adjusts the language proposed in the NPRM to allow including the word sponsored as one of the options that can be used.
Broadcasters sought this change because it is consistent with existing sponsorship identification language. In addition, recognizing that FARA
requires a standard disclosure, the R&O
simplifies compliance by allowing broadcasters, including small broadcasters, to pass through any required FARA label included with the programming, so long as it also adds the name of the foreign country involved in
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