Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act - 29 U.S.C. § 798 (a) Requirements for Federal Departments and Agencies: (1) Accessibility: (A) Development, procurement, maintenance, or use of electronic and information technology: When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, each Federal department or agency, including the United States Postal Service, shall ensure, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency, that the electronic and information technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology— (i) individuals with disabilities who are Federal employees to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of the information and data by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities; and (2) Electronic and information technology standards: (ii) the technical and functional performance criteria necessary to implement the requirements set forth in paragraph (1).
Section 508 Information
About Section 508 Section 508 requires that when Federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, they shall ensure that the electronic and information technology allows Federal employees with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the department or agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal department or agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities. Section 508 Standards for Electronic and Information Technology.
FCC regulation on closed captioning threatens to push local TV shows off the air
Gerald "Jerry" Bryant, executive producer and host of "JBTV" John R. Boehm Rockers, wrestlers and religious broadcasters producing low-budget television shows are facing a costly federal edict: Add subtitles to your programs or you're off the air. Under pressure from advocacy groups for the deaf, the Federal Communications Commission last year applied its 15-year-old closed-captioning rule to more than 1,000 churches and other independent, nonprofit TV show producers, including a dozen in Illinois, that previously had been exempted. Nonprofit video producers are still hoping to get waivers if they can prove it's “economically burdensome” to comply, but so far not one of more than 1,100 requests for exemption has been granted. “There's no way I'd have this show if I had to pay ridiculous rates for closed captioning,” says Kirk Fallah, a former TV news reporter for NBC whose Homewood-based Fallah Productions Inc. tapes Windy City Poker Championships at charity events in the Chicago area.
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Captioning of Internet Video Programming
Background Closed captioning is the visual display of the audio portion of video programming. Captioning provides access to individuals who are deaf or have hearing loss and is often used in places where it is difficult to hear a TV program, such as restaurants and exercise facilities. On January 12, 2012, the FCC adopted rules requiring captioned programs shown on TV to be captioned when re-shown on the Internet. Video Programming The new rules cover full-length video programming. Implementation Schedule for Captioning Internet Video Programming The following deadlines apply to video programming that a distributor shows for the first time on the Internet (newly added to the distributor's inventory of Internet video programming): September 30, 2012: Pre-recorded video programming that is not "edited for the Internet" must be captioned on the Internet if it is shown on TV with captions on or after September 30, 2012. Archival Internet Video Programming Filing a Complaint For More Information
Closed Captioning on Television
Benefits of Closed Captioning Closed captioning allows persons with hearing disabilities to have access to television programming by displaying the audio portion of a television program as text on the television screen. Closed captioning provides a critical link to news, entertainment and information for individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. For individuals whose native language is not English, English language captions improve comprehension and fluency. FCC Regulatory Background on Closed Captioning Beginning in July 1993, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required all analog television receivers with screens 13 inches or larger sold or manufactured in the United States to contain built-in decoder circuitry to display closed captioning. In 1996, Congress required video programming distributors (VPDs) (cable operators, broadcasters, satellite distributors and other multi-channel video programming distributors) to close caption their television programs. New Rules Adopted
