submitted by Catharine

Believe it or not, most major networks do not carry closed-captioned videos / TV broadcasts online, and the only smartphone on the market that supports captioning is the iPhone.

Surprising, isn’t it?

Thanks to a new bill on the floor in Congress, “The 21st Century Communication and Telecommunications Act,” that just might change.

There are two components to this bill that are appealing to me – and to Keen:

1.    It calls for more requirements for closed captioning availability of online videos.

That means that we’ll be able to share more educational videos with you. We’ll get to spend more time looking for good content rather than re-creating captions.

2.    A mandate for smartphones supporting a video screen to support closed captioning. (Currently, it’s only required for T.V.’s 13″ and larger.)

Our consumers will be able to read captions that are traditional and familiar on a handheld device. All captions will be consistent, as opposed to the different styles and formats offered through open captions.

Who will benefit?

Over 100 million Americans. That’s more than all the people who live in the state of New York, California, Florida, AND Texas combined! (Source: COAT & Census Bureau)

If all goes well in Congress, we may see greater accessibility and more people being able to understand content on-line and through a smart-phone in the near future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!

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