Media News - Wednesday, May 14, 2008

U.S. bill would require captioning for Internet video

Nearly two decades after the U.S. government began requiring television networks to provide text captions for hearing-impaired viewers, there is a move afoot to set the same standard for Internet video. Representative Ed Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, is backing a bill that would require major producers of Internet videos to add captions as well as ‘video description’ soundtracks that describe the on-screen action for blind people. The measure would also force changes in the design of television and telephone equipment to make the devices more accessible to the disabled. The bill would require TV networks in the United States to provide captioning and video description tracks when they stream their shows over the Internet. In addition, video description tracks would be made mandatory for traditional TV broadcasts. About half of U.S. Internet users now watch video online, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. While many log on to watch amateur videos at sites like YouTube, a growing number view prime-time programming from the four major broadcast TV networks and many cable TV channels. Few of these video streams include captions. (International Herald Tribune)

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