First CVAA Captioning Deadline Has Arrived, FCC Posts Complaint Form

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is pleased to announce that the very first online closed captioning deadline arrived on September 30, 2012.  The NAD was a key leader along with other consumer organizations in the push to pass the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) which requires access to online programming that has previously been shown on TV with captions.  Following the passage of the CVAA, the NAD participated heavily in the FCC rulemaking process where the FCC established specific rules for the enforcement of the CVAA.  The FCC published its rules for Internet captioning last winter and in the spring released a schedule of deadlines. 

100% of pre-recorded video programming shown on television with captions after September 30, 2012 must have captions when shown online unedited for Internet distribution. This means that any program that is shown on TV after September 30th with captions and is later shown online must be closed captioned. These rules only apply to full-length programming and not to video clips. For example, if a new program that is not edited for internet distribution is shown on TV with captions on October 1, 2012 and then on October 2nd is made available online, it must be closed captioned. This applies to programming streamed over the Internet onto computers, smartphones, tablets, and gaming consoles. There are several other deadlines such as for live programming, programming edited for Internet distribution, and archival content that is already available online but is shown or re-aired on TV after the deadline. 

We encourage our members and the community to be diligent and notify the FCC of any violations of these new rules.  To read about these rules and for information on how to file a complaint, please visit the FCC guide on the captioning of Internet video programming at:

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/captioning-internet-video-programming   [2]