By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC is asking the public Tuesday for how it should go about mandating accessibility features on online streaming platforms as part of the implementation of the Online Streaming Act.
The regulator is bound by the new law to not only regulate online streamers, but to also force them to comply with accessibility rules, namely described video and audio description for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted and closed captioning for those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
While there are closed captioning (CC) rules for traditional broadcasters, the regulator is asking for comments by August 19 to questions including what it should consider – such as subscriber numbers or revenues – when deciding which online streamers should be subject to the CC rules; should it and is it feasible to require those streamers to provide CC for 100 per cent of English- and French-language pre-recorded programs; and what challenges could there be to that implementation.
It is also seeking responses to questions related to why a 100 per cent accuracy rate for CC would not be appropriate for programs in both languages; whether there should be quality measures related to accuracy, such as lag time, on-screen positioning, speed and captioning format for pre-recorded and live programs; whether these platforms should be forced to regularly assess the accuracy of their CC on a regular basis and if it should be for specific types of programming; and whether the streamers should be required to submit regular reports describing their efforts to improve CC accuracy.
When the rules aren’t being followed, the CRTC wants to know how complaints about CC services not living up to the standard should be handled. That includes what existing methods the streamers have to address such complaints; whether there should be standards for addressing complaints; how they can be made as transparent as possible; when the regulator should intervene, if at all; and whether streamers should be required to retain copies of programs with CC to address the complaints.
The CRTC is also broaching whether online streamers, like traditional broadcasters, should be required to consult with individuals and groups in the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities about CC policies and practices on a regular basis.
The regulator is also asking about whether it should give more time for implementing CC rules for smaller online streamers versus larger ones.
For the blind and partially sighted group, the CRTC is broadly seeking comments by August 26 on implementing described video and audio description for foreign and domestic online streamers.
Traditional television broadcasters that are part of large ownership groups are currently required to provide, for certain categories of programs, described video for all programming between the prime-time slot of 7 pm and 11 pm.
The CRTC is seeking to find out which online streamers should be subject to the rules; what barriers are there to described video and audio description practices and how they can be addressed; if the practices are mandated, what percentage of programming for both official languages should be described and what would be an appropriate implementation timeline; and what challenges would there be to implementation.
The regulator also wants to know whether it should maintain a described video exception for U.S.-originating programming that are broadcast on traditional TV stations in that country, and what impact that exception has had on Canadians who rely on that feature.
It also wants to know how Canadians can find programming with those accessibility features when content libraries can be large; whether there should be quality standards and reporting for those features; how it should go about handling complaints; and whether it should require online streamers to consult regularly with blind and partially sighted communities on their accessibility policies.
