FCC Votes to Implement E-LABEL Act

The FCC has voted unanimously to allow manufacturers of devices with screens to display FCC information electronically on those screens—as was required by the E-LABEL Act.

That e-labeling applies to both domestic and imported devices.

The bill applied to devices with integrated displays—smart phones, tablets, TVs—and directed the FCC to allow electronics manufacturers to display FCC-required information on those screens instead of on a label or etched into the device. The FCC has now made that part of its rules.

The item also combines two self-authorizations into a Declaration of Conformity, eliminates the need for filing forms with customs for the importation of RF devices, and updates testing methodologies and "clarifies certain standards that may be relied on for demonstrating that equipment complies with the rules."

“The FCC’s newly adopted Order on Equipment Authorization is a win-win for consumers and manufacturers alike," said Cinnamon Rogers, SVP at the Telecommunications Industry Association, of the item. "Today’s action by the Commission brings a long-awaited upgrade to costly and outdated labeling rules for telecommunications equipment. By allowing the display of most FCC certification information on an attached screen, device packaging, or in an instruction manual—instead of on the device itself—the Commission has allowed manufacturers to display more prominently common symbols synonymous with consumer safety."

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.