Last weekend, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act. The major impact on web design and development involves video captioning and accessibility in mobile/browser features.
The Adobe Accessiblity Blog listed what the law will mean.
Specifically, the bill establishes that:
- Within one year of passage of the Act that the FCC will define regulations to make Advanced Communications Services accessible to and usable by people with disabilities (Section 716)
- Effective three years after passage of the Act, internet browsers built into mobile phones will need to support accessibility in the browser’s features and functions (Section 718)
- Within 60 days the FCC will establish a committee to advise on video programming and emergency access, and that group will develop reports (Section 201)
- a report within 6 months which includes deadlines for the delivery of closed captioning services
- a report within 18 months recommending the schedule for the delivery of video description
- Within 6 months, the FCC will set a schedule for requiring closed captions on video displayed online, for video that was delivered with captions on broadcast television. (Section 202)
- The FCC will commence an evaluation within one year of the passage of the Act to investigate the technical challenges, benefits, and technical challenges around video description for online video. (Section 202)
- The FCC will define regulations within 18-36 months which require access to the controls that accompany video programming (e.g. play, pause, closed captioning, volume controls) to enable access for people who are blind or visually impaired. (section 204)
- The FCC will define regulations within 18-36 months which require on-screen menus and program guides to be accessible to people who are blind or low-vision. (Section 205)
The White House event announcing the law and showing the signing of the law is available on YouTube.