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Government Regulations
Automatic Sync Technologies provides the following information as guidance, not as a substitute for legal assistance. This page is meant to provide readers with an overview to help them gain a better understanding of what legislation their organization needs to consider.
US: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Title II of this act (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities:
(a) any State or local government;
(b) any department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or States or local government; and
(c) the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, and any commuter authority (as defined in section 103(8) of the Rail Passenger Service Act).
Further, section 202 also alludes to captioning:
Subject to the provisions of this title, no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.
Section 402 states:
Any television public service announcement that is produced or funded in whole or in part by any agency of Federal Government shall include closed captioning of the verbal content.
US: Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Section 508 of this act (29 U.S.C. 794, as amended in 1998) and it the implementing regulations (36 C.F.R. 1194.1 et seq.) issued by the federal Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) require that electronic and information technology developed, purchased or used by federal agencies must be accessible for use by persons with disabilities. Video or multimedia products are covered by section 1194.24 of those regulations.
Section 504 of this act was designed to ensure that any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance does not discriminate on the basis of disability for otherwise qualified persons. A "person with a disability" is defined as any person who:
(1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities,
(2) has record of such an impairment, or
(3) is regarded as having such an impairment.
Major life activities include walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working, caring for oneself, and performing manual tasks.
US: Assistive Technology Act of 1998
By virtue of this act (29 U.S.C. 3002), the Rehab Act section 508 regulations are applicable to the states, and thus to the colleges, universities and its contractors and grantees.
US: Television Decoder Circuitry Act of 1990
This act requires new televisions to have built-in decoder circuitry. Specifically:
(a) All analog television displays 13 inches and larger, and computer equipment that includes analog television receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals. As soon as practicable, but not later than July 1, 2002, widescreen digital television (DTV) displays measuring at least 7.8 inches vertically, DTV sets with conventional displays measuring at least 13 inches vertically, and stand-alone DTV tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens, and computer equipment that includes DTV receiver or display circuitry, shall be equipped with caption decoder circuitry which appropriately receives, decodes, and displays closed captions from broadcast, cable, videotape, and DVD signals.
US: Telecommunications Act of 1996
This act requires mandates that by January 2006 virtually broadcast and cable programs will be captions. This act does not cover DVDs or home videos.
Canada: Ontarians with Disabilities Act of 1990
This act has phase in requirements for accessibility in key areas such as education in the province of Ontario. While the phase-in period to become compliant is rather lengthy, institutions are required to submit plans to demonstrate how they will comply.
Canada: Public Notice CRTC 1995-48
This notice directs major English language televisions networks to caption at least 90% of all programming during the broadcast day as well as all local news, including live segments. Individual stations and specialty networks also have requirements as specified in their license.
