ViacomCBS, Pluto Agree to $3.5M Penalty Over IP Captions

ViacomCBS and its streaming service Pluto TV agreed to a $3.5 million settlement with the FCC Enforcement Bureau over violations of FCC IP closed-captioning rules, said a consent decree Wednesday. Pluto didn’t provide timely accurate information, and it wasted "valuable Commission resources" and delayed "the resolution of the accessibility issues,” the decree said. This stems from consumer complaints about nonfunctional captions on Pluto TV in 2018, the decree said. An agency investigation found that despite being in contact with the FCC about captioning issues, petitioning for a waiver and receiving a letter of inquiry about possible violations, “Pluto continued to offer Pluto TV on existing Platforms and initiated Pluto TV on several new Platforms without being in compliance.” The business “failed to provide timely and accurate information,” the decree said. It includes an elaborate compliance plan, with consultations with disability groups, creation of a consumer information website, testing procedures to ensure functional captions on all platforms, training, and a three-year reporting requirement. A Media Bureau order lets Pluto withdraw its waiver petition. It's “the first consent decree and first enforcement action related to” IP captioning rules “since their adoption in 2012,” said the FCC. “We recognize the importance of closed captioning and have been working in close collaboration with the FCC on the consent decree,” emailed a Pluto TV spokesperson Thursday. “We are committed to ensuring that our audiences can freely enjoy the programming streaming on our platform with ease of use and accessibility.”