The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has adopted new rules to help ensure that people with disabilities can more fully participate in video conferencing.
The FCC outlined new performance objectives for conferencing platforms – “interoperable video conferencing services” (IVCS) – equipment manufacturers, and software suppliers that include, among other things, accurate and synchronous captioning, easier access to third-party captions and sign language services and the ability for users to adjust caption size and font, video windows and other features important for accessibility.
“In this decision we take note of changes in the way we communicate accelerated by the pandemic,” says FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. “When physical doors closed, the virtual spaces provided by conferencing platforms like Zoom, Teams and Webex became an essential way to connect for work, school, health and simple contact with family and friends.”
Though video conferencing has become a routine facet of everyday life – a Pew Research Center study found that 78% of remote workers use video or online conferencing services at least “sometimes,” with more than half using such services “often ” – the FCC notes that it still can pose unique challenges for people with disabilities as the availability of accessibility tools is highly uneven.
Updated objectives
The new rules focus on captions, caption controls and third-party captioning and sign language interpretation services. The FCC says these updates directly address one of the most persistent accessibility issues concerning video conferences – the inconsistent availability of accurate captions across video conferencing providers.
These rules will not come into force until 2026.
Captioning. The updated rules require conferencing platforms to provide at least one mode with captions that accurately and synchronously display the spoken communications in a video conference.
“The record is clear that captions play a crucial role in allowing people who are deaf or hard of hearing to be fully engaged in a video conference conversation,” the FCC writes. “While the existing rule already makes clear that captioning is necessary for accessibility, it does not address the quality of captions. As modified, the performance objective states that captions must be accurate and synchronous.”
The update also requires platforms allow users to connect with and view third-party captioning services, like those provided by Verbit, on a single conference screen rather than on a separate screen.
“In some instances, participants in video conferences may prefer a third-party captioning service, which may provide a higher degree of accuracy than can be achieved by using the IVCS provider’s native captioning,” the FCC says. “Some video conferencing services struggle to integrate third-party captioning into their conference calls requiring users, in some cases, to open a separate web browser or application to view captions, forcing them to split their attention between two screens.
“If deaf and hard of hearing participants are forced to split their attention between multiple screens, or multiple devices, it often will be difficult to follow the visual conversation on one screen while simultaneously reading the captions on another.”
Sign language interpretation. Conferencing platforms and any equipment and software used should allow for the use of sign language interpretation provided by third parties, with sufficient video quality to allow users and interpreters to clearly see and understand each other’s signing.
User interface controls. Platforms must provide interface controls that allow users to activate and adjust the display of captions, speakers, signers, usernames and other features necessary for accessibility without the host’s permission. This includes the ability for users to change the size, font and on-screen location of captions and adjust the color and opacity of captions and caption backgrounds.
The updated rules do not differentiate between human-generated captions and those created entirely with automatic speech recognition technology.
Meeting your needs
Remote work and conference calls have rapidly become the new normal, transforming the way businesses operate, employees collaborate and students learn. Conference calls, video meetings, and digital collaboration tools now allow teams and individuals to connect seamlessly from different locations, promoting flexibility and work-life balance.
Verbit offers a variety of live captioning and transcription tools that integrate directly with a number of remote meeting platforms to help to meet accessibility needs and allow everyone to be part of the conversation.