- Date: 10 Oct 2012
YouTube has posted a notification on its site asking users to report videos that lack captions.
The online video streaming website is asking its users to fill out a form on the website if they believe a video uploaded to YouTube should include captions. This follows the mandate set by the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act 2010 (CVAA) that makes it compulsory for TV networks to make closed captions available on their content online.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US recently set a September 30 deadline for all TV networks and web video sites to caption videos that are posted online. The mandate ensures captions are provided for content to keep up with the increasing number of videos that are posted on websites, particularly by commercial networks and broadcasters.
According to the notification posted by YouTube, users are encouraged to submit the URL of the video via an online form to report its lack of captions if they believe the video requires captions by law. YouTube will then notify the distributor of the video of the complaint and send their response to the user who reported it.
In order to use this service, users must be signed into their YouTube account so the system can verify them using the account's email address, in addition to asking for your full name that acts as a digital signature. The site warns that misuse of the form may result in the user's YouTube account being terminated.
Under the mandate, video streaming websites such as YouTube, Hulu and Amazon must ensure videos that have previously been broadcast on TV with captions are also captioned once they are posted on their site. The only videos that are exempt from this mandate are videos that have been made for online-only distribution.
Last week the world's largest retailer, Amazon, began adding closed captions on its Instant Video streaming service in compliance with a requirement of the CVAA.
This article is adapted from YouTube asks users to report lack of captions, published on Media Access Australia. Access iQ™ is an initiative of Media Access Australia, Australia's only independent not-for-profit organisation who advocates for equal access to media and technology for users of all abilities.