Accessibility for the Disabled

The Federal Communications Commission adopted a Third Report and Order furthering its efforts to enable individuals with disabilities to access video programming through closed captioning. The Order adopts a “readily accessible” requirement for closed captioning display settings. The Commission previously adopted requirements that users must be able to customize caption displays by changing the font, size, color, and other caption features, but many consumers have had difficulty accessing these caption display settings.

On July 3, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel spoke at the National Association of the Deaf Conference in Chicago (IL) about the ways "digital technologies can improve the lives of people with disabilities," and about some of the work the FCC has done to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. "Two weeks from now, the FCC will vote on a new proposal to improve video programming accessibility for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Attorney General Merrick Garland signed a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications (apps) for people with disabilities. This final rule clarifies the obligations of state and local governments to make their websites and mobile applications accessible.

At today’s meeting, I voted on two consumer issues—to ask cable programmers, and television and radio stations for their help to achieve the critical goal of providing timely information about emergencies to the public, in a language they can understand; and to clarify that consumers can opt-out of call or text lists using any reasonable means and may respond in the language in which they received the communication.

The Federal Communications Commission proposed rules that would make it easier for emergency managers to send emergency alerts in non-English languages to the public over television and radio. The proposal would remove a key barrier to sending multilingual messages through the Emergency Alert System, which could in turn spur more alerts that are accessible to more people—and potentially save lives. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking adopted February 15, the Commission is seeking comment on proposals to:

The Federal Communications Commission's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau seeks comment on specific mechanisms to implement multilingual Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA). Through these measures, the Bureau advances the priority that WEA serve as an effective and accessible life-saving tool for many, including the millions of people living in the United States who do not primarily speak English or Spanish and the estimated one-in-four adults in the United States that have some form of disability who remain at risk for not being able to receive and understand the potentially life-savi

This memorandum provides guidance to help agencies advance digital accessibility by maintaining an accessible Federal technology environment, promoting accessible digital experiences, and continuing the implementation of accessibility standards in accordance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Members of the public and Federal employees should have equitable access to government, regardless of ability. The prevalence of information technology and the growing necessity of it in daily life make digital accessibility a continuing imperative for Federal agencies.

There are 8 million people with blindness or low vision in the US. More than 4.23 million of them are working age, but only about half of that working-age population are employed. Employment rates for people with blindness or low vision have historically been much lower than for the general population. An overwhelming majority of jobs across all industries require digital skills.