47 U.S.C. § 412 — Documents filed with Commission as public records; prima facie evidence; confidential records

This section makes certain filings with the Commission into official public records, and says what legal weight they carry. Copies of carriers' filed schedules of charges and classifications, and copies of all contracts, agreements, and arrangements between common carriers filed with the Commission, must be kept as public records in the custody of the Commission's secretary. So must the statistics, tables, and figures in the annual or other reports that carriers and other persons are required to file under this chapter. These public records count as prima facie evidence — meaning they are accepted as proof of what they appear to show — both when the Commission investigates and in any court case. Copies or extracts of these schedules, classifications, contracts, agreements, arrangements, or reports, if certified by the Commission's secretary under the Commission's seal, are admitted as evidence with the same effect as the original documents. There's one exception: the Commission may keep a contract, agreement, or arrangement about foreign wire or radio communication confidential, if serving the public interest requires it — specifically, if making it public would put American communication companies at a disadvantage against foreign competitors.