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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 115 / Thursday, June 17, 2021 / Rules and Regulations providing the programming and comports with the format and frequency requirements described below. The R&O
concludes that the FARA disclosure with the addition of the country name satisfies the need to provide viewers and listeners greater insight regarding the source of foreign governmentprovided programming.
85. The R&O details what is required of broadcasters to meet the reasonable diligence standard contained in section 317c of the Act so that broadcasters can determine if a foreign sponsorship identification disclosure is needed. The R&O concludes that such diligence at a minimum requires the broadcaster to at the time of agreement and at renewal:
1 Inform the lessee of the foreign sponsorship disclosure requirement;
2 Inquire of the lessee whether it falls into any of the categories that qualify it as a foreign governmental entity;
3 Inquire of the lessee whether it knows if anyone further back in the chain of producing/distributing the programming that will be aired pursuant to the lease agreement, or a sub-lease, qualifies as a foreign governmental entity and has provided some type of inducement to air the programming;
4 Independently confirm the lessees status, by consulting the Department of Justices FARA website and the Commissions semi-annual U.S.-based foreign media outlets reports. This need only be done if the lessee states that it does not fall into one of the covered categories and that there is no separate need for a disclosure because no one further back in the chain of producing/
transmitting the programming falls into one of the covered categories and has provided some form of service or consideration as an inducement to broadcast the programming; and 5 Memorialize the above-listed inquiries and investigations to track compliance in the event documentation is required to respond to any future Commission inquiry on the issue.
86. The R&O specifies that the licensee must memorialize the results of its diligence in some manner for its own records and maintain this documentation for the remainder of the then-current license term or one year, whichever is longer. In addition, the R&O clarifies that, under the revised rules, the lessee of airtime, in accordance with sections 507b and c of the Act, also holds an independent obligation to communicate information to the licensee relevant to determining whether a disclosure is needed.
87. In the interest of ensuring transparency for viewers and listeners of foreign government-provided
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programming, the R&O requires that, if the primary language of the programming is other than English, the disclosure statement should be presented in the primary language of the programming. The disclosure for televised programming should be in letters equal to or greater than four percent of the vertical picture height and be visible for not less than four seconds to ensure readability. As this requirement tracks existing rules for televised political advertisements, television licensees are familiar with this format. For radio broadcasts, the R&O incorporates the existing DOJ
interpretation for programming provided by FARA registrants: That the disclosure shall be audible. The R&O
requires that the disclosure be made at both the beginning and end of the programming, and, consistent with an existing requirement for political broadcast matter, for any broadcast of 5 minutes or less, only once. Finally, for programming longer than sixty minutes, the disclosure must be made at regular intervals during the broadcast, but no less frequently than once every sixty minutes. The R&O finds that periodic announcements are necessary, particularly in those instances where a foreign governmental entity is continually broadcasting programming without an identifiable beginning or end, such as through a lease of a 100%
of a stations airtime. Other than this final requirement for longer programming, the new size, frequency and duration requirements of the new foreign sponsorship identification rules are consistent existing sponsorship identification rules and are thus familiar to broadcasters.
88. Consistent with the NPRM, the R&O adopts a requirement that stations airing foreign government-provided programming must place copies of the disclosures in their Online Public Information Files OPIFs, in a standalone folder marked as Foreign Government-Provided Programming Disclosures so that the material is readily identifiable to the public. The R&O adopts the proposal discussed in the NPRM, that, to the extent the foreign programming consists of a political matter or matter involving the discussion of a controversial issue of public importance, licensees obtain and disclose in their OPIFs a list of the persons operating the foreign governmental entity that has provided the programming. The R&O rules require licensees to place in their OPIFs the actual disclosure and the name of the program to which the disclosure was appended. In addition, the licensee
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must state the date and time the program aired. If there are repeat airings of the program, then those additional dates and times should also be included in the OPIF. In response to broadcaster concerns about burdens, the R&O does not adopt the NPRMs as soon as possible standard for updating OPIFs contained in 73.1943 of existing rules, nor interpret this phrase to mean within twenty-four hours of the material being broadcast. Rather, for frequency of updating OPIFs, the R&O
adopts rules that align with an existing requirement to update the TV Issues/
Programs Lists on a quarterly basis, as this will minimize the need for licensees to track different public filing requirements. The R&O also adopts the same OPIF two-year retention period as currently exists for the retention of lists of the executives of any entity that sponsored programming concerning a political or controversial matter. For broadcast stations that do not have obligations to maintain OPIFs, the Commission recommends such stations retain a record of their disclosures in their station files consistent with previous Commission guidance. The R&O rules also require section 325c permit holders must place copies of the disclosures required along with the name of the program to which the disclosures were appended in the International Bureaus public filing System IBFS under the relevant IBFS
section 325c permit file. The filing must state the date and time the program aired. In the case of repeat airings of the program, those additional dates and times should also be included. Where an aural announcement was made, its contents must be reduced to writing and placed in the IBFS in the same manner.
89. Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments in Response to the IRFA. There were no comments filed in response to the IRFA.
90. Response to Comments by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration. Pursuant to the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which amended the RFA, the Commission is required to respond to a comments filed by the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration SBA, and to provide a detailed statement of any change made to the proposed rules as a result of those comments. The Chief Counsel did not file any comments in response to the proposed rules in this proceeding.
91. Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the Rules Apply. The RFA directs agencies to provide a description of, and where feasible, an estimate of the number of
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