21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act in Plain Language - Part Two

Editor: You may have been hearing about the "21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act" introduced by Representative Markey. It is an attempt to bring Federal laws regarding accessibility for people with disabilities into the 21st century and we heartily support it. Here's a "plain language" description of the bill from the folks at the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT). Do visit them at http://www.coataccess.org

This is part two of two parts.

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June 2008

Here's part one

Title II -Video Programming

Commission Inquiry on Closed-Captioning Decoder and Video Description

Capability, User Interfaces, and Video Programming Guides and Menus. Sec. 201. - This section directs the FCC to conduct three inquiries within 6 months of passage of the Act, and to report to Congress on the results of such inquiries within 1 year: (I) to identify formats and software needed to transmit, receive and display closed captioning and video programming provided via Internet-enabled services and digital wireless services, including ways to transmit televised emergency information that is accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired; and (2) to identify ways to make user interfaces (controls -e.g., turning these devices on and off, controlling volume and selecting programming) on television and other video programming devices -including the receipt, display, navigation and selection of programming -accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired, and (3) to identify ways to make video programming guides and menus (typically on-screen) accessible in real-time to people who cannot read those guides or menus.

Closed-Captioning Decoder and Video Description Capability. Sec. 202 - This section expands the scope of devices that must display closed captions under the Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990 from the present requirement of television sets with screens that are 13 inches or larger, to all video devices that receive or display video programming transmitted simultaneously with sound, including those that can receive or display programming carried over the Internet. The section also requires these devices to be able to transmit and deliver video descriptions. Video description is the provision of verbal descriptions of the on-screen visual elements of a show provided during natural pauses in dialogue.

Video Description and Closed Captioning. Sec. 203. -This section reinstates the FCC's modest regulations on video description. Those rules, originally promulgated in 2001, were struck down by a U.S. Court of Appeals for lack of FCC authority. This section also authorizes the FCC to promulgate additional rules to (1) ensure that video description services can be transmitted and provided over digital TV technologies, (2) require non-visual access to on-screen emergency warnings and similar televised information and (3) increase the amount of video description required. Finally, this section adds a definition for video programming to include programming distributed over the Internet to make clear that the existing closed captioning obligations (and future video description obligations) contained in Section 713 apply to video programming that is distributed or re-distributed over the Internet.

It tasks the FCC with creating captioning rules for three types of programming: 1) pre-produced programming that was previously captioned for television viewing, 2) live video programming, and 3) programming (first published or exhibited after the effective date of the FCC's regulations) provided by or generally considered to be comparable to programming provided by multichannel programming distributors. This section is intended to ensure the continued accessibility of video programming to Americans with disabilities, as this programming migrates to the Internet

User Interfaces. Sec. 204.-This section requires devices used to receive or display video programming, including devices used to receive and display Internet-based video programming, to be accessible by people with disabilities so that such individuals are able to access all functions of such devices related to video programming (such as turning these devices on and off, controlling volume and select programming). The section contains requirements for (1) audio output where on-screen text menus are used to control video programming functions, and (2) a conspicuous means of accessing closed captioning and video description, including a button on remote controls and first level access to these accessibility features when made available through on-screen menus.