Subtitles and Caption Accessibility and Legal Requirements for Captions 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which US federal agency has primary authority over closed caption requirements for broadcast and cable television?
- Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (Correct answer)
- Department of Education
- National Institute on Deafness
Correct answer: Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has regulatory authority over closed caption requirements for broadcast, cable, and satellite television in the United States.
Question 2: What are the FCC's four quality standards for closed captions introduced under the CVAA?
- Speed, accuracy, placement, and timing
- Accuracy, synchrony, program completeness, and placement (Correct answer)
- Font, color, contrast, and position
- Resolution, encoding, timing, and translation accuracy
Correct answer: Accuracy, synchrony, program completeness, and placement
The FCC's four closed caption quality standards are: Accuracy (captions match audio), Synchrony (captions align with audio), Program completeness (entire program is captioned), and Placement (captions do not block important visual content).
Question 3: Which law extended closed caption requirements to online video content in the United States?
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990
- The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) of 2010 (Correct answer)
- Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Correct answer: The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) of 2010
The CVAA (2010) extended FCC captioning rules to internet-distributed video that had previously aired on television with captions, closing the online video captioning gap.
Question 4: What percentage of caption accuracy does the FCC generally expect for broadcast content?
- 70% accuracy
- 85% accuracy
- 99% accuracy (Correct answer)
- 100% accuracy is always required
Correct answer: 99% accuracy
The FCC expects closed captions to be accurate and virtually verbatim, with general industry expectations of 99% or higher word accuracy, though live content has more flexibility.
Question 5: Under the ADA, which type of organization is most directly required to provide accessible captioning for public events?
- Private clubs with selective membership
- Places of public accommodation (Title III) such as theaters and convention centers (Correct answer)
- Federal government agencies only
- Non-profit organizations with fewer than 15 employees
Correct answer: Places of public accommodation (Title III) such as theaters and convention centers
ADA Title III covers places of public accommodation, requiring businesses like theaters, hotels, and convention centers to provide accessible services including captioning for video content.
Question 6: What does Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act require regarding captions?
- All US manufacturers must include caption chips in TVs
- Federal agencies and federally funded programs must make electronic information, including video with captions, accessible to people with disabilities (Correct answer)
- All US websites must provide captions for all audio content
- Private companies with 50+ employees must caption all training videos
Correct answer: Federal agencies and federally funded programs must make electronic information, including video with captions, accessible to people with disabilities
Section 508 requires federal agencies and entities receiving federal funds to ensure electronic and information technology, including video content, is accessible to people with disabilities, including through captions.
Subtitles and Caption Accessibility and Legal Requirements for Captions 1
Which US federal agency has primary authority over closed caption requirements for broadcast and cable television?