Video has become a massive platform for communication across the globe. It only takes a few minutes to upload content to YouTube, share videos on TikTok, or film messages for Instagram and Facebook.
The numbers behind video usage are staggering. More video content is uploaded in 30 days than what major US television networks can broadcast in 30 years – and consumers can’t get enough of it. The average American watches 323 minutes of video content on their phone each week, with video content serving as the top news source for 66 percent of people.
While video consumption continues to increase, government regulators are struggling to keep up. Countless viral videos that capture the attention of the country lack accessible captioning. This leaves a large segment of the American population (the deaf and hard of hearing) unable to fully engage with the content.
In early December 2021, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hosted an online forum to discuss the use of closed captioning in video content. The general consensus is that video providers are falling behind and the committee needs to take action to update regulations for the TikTok-era.
The FCC needs to expand closed captioning rules
The last major piece of legislation passed in relation to accessibility in media was the Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) of 2010. This act gave the FCC authority to regulate closed captioning in broadcast media over the air and online. However, much of the video content consumed by Americans doesn’t fall under this umbrella, which means the FCC can’t enforce its accessibility best practices. The goal of this online forum was to discuss this consumer shift to digital media and how the FCC can keep it accessible.
“It is clear that we must expand access to closed captioning in the online video and streaming marketplace, as well as [promote] consistency in captioning content across video platforms,” says Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.). “As the world has moved from a television and cable model to an online model, we have to move all of those technologies that provide accessibility… over there as well.”
To get an idea of how much video content has expanded over the past decade, look at how YouTube has grown. In March 2010, users uploaded 24 hours of video content to YouTube every minute. In February 2020, users uploaded more than 500 hours of video content per minute – or 30,000 hours of newly uploaded content per hour.
Video becomes even more prevalent outside of YouTube. In 2015, Facebook launched its live video feature, encouraging people to broadcast directly to the network. Shortly after, Twitter and Instagram debuted similar options. In September 2016, TikTok launched in the United States and now is one of the key drivers of video content in the country.
More than 36 million Americans experience some form of hearing loss, but they want to engage with others on these platforms as well. How can they do that when captions are outdated or non-existent?
Customers don’t notice improvements in captioning technology
Closed captioning technology isn’t new, and that’s the problem. While captioning companies continuously improve their products, consumers aren’t noticing the difference. Many of the issues that were prevalent 30 years ago are still around today.
“The technology has not advanced much since the 1980s, from the consumer’s perspective,” says Dr. Christian Vogler, director of the technology access program at Gallaudet University.
Specifically, captaining tools are often developed to support broadcast television, where content is filmed weeks or months earlier. Many captioning tools still struggle with live content. Even when presenting recorded content, low-quality closed captions can provide incorrect or misleading results. This creates challenges for online content creators who share live updates and don’t know how to edit videos with accessibility features.
There is also an art to creating captions. Jason Stark, project director at the Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP), recently discussed captioning when a speaker makes grammatical errors. The way a person speaks in a video can provide insight into their background and their character. Grammatical errors are often written into the script or added by a performer. They are intentional and don’t need to be corrected by the captioning software.
That being said, there are times when editing the content is useful, like when an interviewee uses a lot of uhs and ums that are filler words and don’t contribute to what they are trying to say. If a captioning tool can remove those, it creates a better experience.
Captioning services need to be able to pick up when a content creator intentionally places an um in a video or uses slang, as opposed to when they stumble over words and need the captions to correct them. These are technology demands that captioning companies are working to keep up with.
Private companies alone can’t move captioning forward
One of the bright spots in video captioning comes from the private sector. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, two powerhouses in video streaming and content creation, are both taking steps to increase accessibility through video captions. Netflix continues to increase its accessibility features while Amazon works with both in-house teams and third-party companies to add closed captioning to video content. Google and YouTube are also working to create better captioning tools.
However, the private sector alone cannot drive change. While these mega-corporations can make a significant dent in the percent of video content that has accurate closed captioning, there are still countless sources of content and options to consume media that aren’t accessible. (Entertainment in the airline industry is a good example.)
Additionally, there’s a big difference between companies issuing statements about accessibility and the realities of these efforts. YouTube’s captions are known for being incorrect, which is frustrating for users who are deaf and trying to use this resource. If the platform can’t handle a basic sentence by someone speaking slowly and clearly, is there any hope for content creators who have accents or speak in a unique manner? The same applies to other captioning tools on Facebook and TikTok.
TikTok presents another unique challenge for captioning. This platform uses a combination of text and verbal communication in video content. There are times when captions can cover the text of the video, leaving viewers frustrated because they can’t see what the video is actually about or miss a funny reaction because of clunky captions.
The goal of the FCC is to create standards for web video regardless of where the viewer is engaging with the content, while calling on technology providers to elevate their captioning tools.
Captioning helps a variety of consumers
There is an entire spectrum of hearing loss with levels of ability. Some people are deaf while others have limited hearing capabilities due to old age or hearing damage. By providing captioning services, content creators and the companies that host them can create an inclusive environment for these Americans. As the FCC continues to review its best practices and shortcomings, it should create better guidelines that make a more accessible worldwide web.
Learn more about auditory disabilities through Accessibility.com. You can also learn about the rules and regulations that are drafted to help people with disabilities have equal access to the Internet.
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