STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER JESSICA ROSENWORCEL Re: Accessibility of User Interfaces, and Video Programming Guides and Menus, MB Docket No. 12-108; Accessible Emergency Information, and Apparatus Requirements for Emergency Information and Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, MB Docket No. 12-107, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking We live in a world of programming abundance. The number of available channels has multiplied—and with it the choices we need to make every time we turn on the television or seek video programming on any screen handy. Yet for the blind and visually impaired, small tasks—like finding a favorite show or tracking down information about programs—can be difficult. That is why today’s decision is so important. It will help ensure that individuals who are blind or visually impaired can more easily access video programming on a wide range of video devices. It also will enable consumers who are deaf and hard of hearing to more easily activate closed captioning on video devices. Given the speed with which programming guides are changing, crafting rules and regulations like this is no small task. Going forward we need to be vigilant and enforce the rules we have put in place. But more than that, we will need to monitor the marketplace and to make sure that as time and technology march on our rules continue to provide the access contemplated in the law. This decision marks the last new rulemaking that the Commission must complete to implement the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Act. Our work is not yet done, but this milestone merits attention. For all the complexity of this law, its goal is undeniably simple: putting in place policies that will extend opportunity and access in the digital age. I want to thank my colleagues at the Commission for their hard work to date implementing this legislation. I also want to recognize the work of the consumer electronics industry, telecommunications companies, and providers and distributors of video programming. Finally, we would not be celebrating our success today without the tireless advocacy of the many champions of Americans with disabilities who fought for this law and pressed for its just implementation. I know that both from my time at the Commission and from my work on Capitol Hill before I arrived at the agency. They have my support and deep admiration.