Captions (Live) - Success Criterion 1.2.4 (Level AA)

Question

Are you providing real time captions for all live media that includes audio?

Why is this important?

Users with auditory disabilities may find it impossible to know what is happening during real time live streaming events such as webinars and live newscasts. They rely on live captions to follow the dialogue and other significant audio as well as identify speakers.

Whom does it benefit?

Example 1

As a student with a hearing impairment,
I want captions provided during live webinar lectures
so that I can gain a full understanding of the parts of the presentation that are spoken by the instructor.

Example 2

As a person who is deaf,
I want captions provided during live news broadcasts or alerts
so that I can be aware of any emergency situations, disaster alerts, and other relevant information.

What should you do?

Provide real time captioning for all audio content in live media.

This success criterion is intended for content being delivered by the speaker or presenter (e.g., live presentation, live news web cast, town hall meeting), not for two-way communications or meetings.

How do you do it?

Contract with a Communication Access Real Time (CART) vendor to provide captions remotely via a separate online platform. An edited transcript should be included for posting. Give participants instructions on how to connect to CART content online.

Note: The source of the audio needs to be clear and at the appropriate volume to be properly live captioned.