The NAD Leads the Way for Accessible Closed Captioning Controls
On June 4, 2012, the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) led a number of organizations and consumer groups in submitting comments in response to a Public Notice issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the accessibility of closed captioning controls on devices and equipment.
The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) directs the FCC to mandate access to closed captioning features on both video programming equipment and navigation devices through mechanism that is “reasonably comparable to a button, key, or icon” designed specifically for activating closed captioning features.
Closed captioning controls must be easily accessible, in order to prevent navigation through unfolding maze of menus, or prevent users from having to turn on/off a device in order to access closed captioning controls.
The closed captioning control is a mechanism that is used to turn on/off closed captions and/or customize size, color and positioning, among many other features. The NAD, along with other consumer interest groups, believes that closed captioning controls need to be treated with a role that is equivalent to that assigned to current volume controls.
If a physical button on the device or remote raises or lowers volume, then there should also be a physical button to access the clo