WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau today proposed a fine of $100,000 against Verizon Wireless for apparently violating its obligation to provide the Bureau with information necessary to determine whether the company's Premium Visual Voicemail service is accessible to persons with disabilities.

In December 2021, a consumer filed an informal complaint with the FCC's Enforcement Bureau alleging that Verizon Wireless' Premium Visual Voicemail service was not accessible. The Bureau investigated the complaint and found in favor of the consumer on the ground that Verizon Wireless had not met its burden of proof to show that the service was either accessible or that accessibility was not readily achievable.

Because Verizon Wireless failed to produce information requested by the Commission and required in response to the informal complaint, the Bureau was unable to make a substantive determination about whether or not the service was accessible. Today's action finds that Verizon Wireless's lack of responsiveness negatively impacted the Bureau's ability to carry out its duties, wasted Commission resources, and delayed potential relief to the complainant.

"The Enforcement Bureau takes seriously its investigations of companies' compliance with the Commission's accessibility rules," said Acting FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Loyaan A. Egal. "We will take appropriate action to ensure others appreciate the importance of these investigations and the need to fully respond to our requests for information."

The proposed action, formally called a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, or NAL, contains only allegations that advise a party on how it has apparently violated the law and may set forth a proposed monetary penalty. The Commission may not impose a greater monetary penalty in this case than the amount proposed in the NAL. Neither the allegations nor the proposed sanctions in the NAL are final Commission actions. The party will be given an opportunity to respond and the Commission will consider the party's submission of evidence and legal arguments before acting further to resolve the matter.

FCC