Federal Communications Commission	"FCC  XX-XXX"


STATEMENT OF
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL O’RIELLY

Re:    	Electronic Delivery of MVPD Communications, MB Docket No. 17-317; Modernization 
of Media Regulation Initiative, MB Docket No. 17-105

As with previous items by this Commission, today’s item brings our media rules more in line with current consumer practices.  Our efforts on this front are incredibly important and beneficial to both providers and consumers. 

In this simple item, we allow cable providers to notify subscribers of various statutorily-required information obligations, including privacy practices and consumer data policies, via consumer-authorized emails.  Eliminating the obligation to provide paper notices will save time and money, reduce environmental waste destined for landfills, and improve consumer awareness.  I also thank my fellow Commissioners for agreeing to allow companies to provide website addresses, instead of listing channel lineups and rates in annual notices, if a consumer elects to receive them in paper.  After all, such information is lengthy and burdensome to provide in print and is already available online.

I also appreciate my colleagues’ willingness to add a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to explore whether and how best to allow other technologies, such as texts, to be used to provide notifications to consumers.  As I raised earlier in this proceeding, many consumers have moved past emails — especially given the high level of spam — and actually prefer different notification mechanisms for billing, customer care issues, and other purposes.  We must recognize this and adapt, and I am pleased to see our work will continue to modernize our rules even further. 

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