What is the CVAA?
The Twenty-First Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) is a United States accessibility law signed in October 2010. The law’s objective was to ensure that emerging technologies and communication channels are accessible to people with disabilities. The CVAA covered advances and innovations in digital, mobile, and broadband technologies.
What Are the Key Components of the CVAA?
The CVAA covers two key aspects – Telecommunication access and video programming:
- Telecommunication Access—This component specifies that advanced communications products and services must be accessible to people with disabilities. This includes email, instant messaging, video communications, and text messaging. People with visual impairment or blindness should be able to access web browsers on their mobile phones.
- Video Programming – This component specifies that television programming and streaming video must be accessible. The primary focus of this component is on closed captioning. From the standpoint of web accessibility, any video programming that has been shown on television with captions should be captioned when shown on the web. With the focus on closed captions, people who are deaf or hard of hearing will be able to access online and television-based programs with ease.
Compliance Requirements
The due dates for captioning for three types of video programming are summarized in the following table:
| Category | Type of Video Programming for which Captioning is Necessary as per CVAA |
| Full-length video programming |
|
| Internet video clips |
|
| Archival Video Programming | While distributors do have time to add captions to video programming already shown on the web and then shown on TV with captions, please refer
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/captioning-internet-video-programming for a complete list of dates. |
Who Needs to Implement the CVAA?
In February 2016, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) confirmed that video producers and distributors are responsible for providing closed captions and ensuring their quality.
“Those who produce and distribute video for television have a shared responsibility to ensure that closed captioning is both available and accurate,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler.
While video programmers were responsible for the quality of captions, the technical aspects of captioning and its delivery need to be taken care of by cable and satellite companies.
The Benefits of the CVAA for Website Accessibility
While the CVAA states that video programming captioned on television must also be captioned when published on the Internet, if a program has been shown only on the Internet, it does not need to be captioned.
For example, streaming services like Netflix Originals that create video content only for the Internet do not have to provide captions. However, this content is covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In 2011, Netflix was sued by the National Association of the Deaf for not providing closed captioning. The court ruled in favour of the National Association of the Deaf because, as per the ADA, websites are places of ‘public accommodation.’
However, content generated by consumers, such as vlogs or homemade videos, need not contain captioning.
By combining the CVAA and the ADA, the world of entertainment and telecommunications opens to a larger audience of people with disabilities.
Learn More
To learn more about the CVAA, click here -> CVAA.
