Representatives of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) want to talk to you – and are taking the conversation on the road.
“The FCC, we’re a small agency, but we regulate so many things important to your lives,” said Deputy Bureau Chief for Consumer and Governmental Affairs Roger Goldblatt.
Goldblatt is part of a team discussing the FCC’s mission, initiatives, and what it can do for consumers.
They held two meetings in the Seattle metro area Tuesday – one at the Washington Talking Book and Braille Library, and the other at a library in Federal Way.
“The goal of our outreach operation is to reach out to different segmented communities, be it rural, be it non-English speaking, senior citizens, people with disabilities,” said Goldblatt.
On the agenda was a discussion on phone scammers.
“These people are not nice people,” said Goldblatt.
And robocalls.
“We get like hundreds of thousands of complaints about robocalls,” he said. “Why doesn’t the FCC just stop them? Well, it’s not that easy.”
They also discussed upcoming changes to the broadcast TV signal during the meetings.
“What you need to know as a consumer is that you will need to rescan your TV,” said Goldblatt.
They also discussed the theft of mobile devices, along with emergency preparedness.
Tumwater resident Viola Cruz came to voice a few concerns, including a lack of audio descriptions in TV shows. Cruz, who is blind, said not enough popular shows include the aid.
“Anything with video description makes it easier to get everything out of the show that everyone else gets,” said Cruz.
Goldblatt added the effort about putting a personal face to the agency.
“You read about the FCC, but it’s all high-level issues that don’t affect us on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “Getting robocalls 10 times a day affects us. Charges on our phone bills affect us.”
Two more public events are scheduled in the Northwest this week.
Wednesday, 9/19
Noon - 1:00 pm
Presentation at Twin Cities Senior Center
2545 N. National Avenue, Chehalis, WA 98532 (Lewis County)
Thursday, 9/20
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Presentation at Canby Public Library
220 NE 2nd Avenue, Canby, OR 97013 (Clackamas County)
