E-Warranty Act Passes House

By an overwhelming vote of 388 to 2, the House passed S. 1359, the E-Warranty Act of 2015, a Senate version of a bill that allows electronics manufacturers to meet their warranty and labeling obligations by putting the information online.

House passage of the Senate bill means it can now go to the President's desk for his signature.

Congress has already passed a bill that allows devices with video screens to post their FCC-required information online rather than having to etch or attach it to the device, though that was essentially putting Congress' imprimatur on a rule change the FCC had already made on its own.

The Telecommunications Industry Association praised passage of S. 1359. In a statement released late Tuesday, TIA Senior VP of Government Affairs James Reid said: "This bipartisan, common sense legislation will increase consumer access to important information while decreasing production costs."

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.