10 posts tagged with "ADA"

Closed captioning is required by law in many situations, though the specific law depends on who you are and where your video is published. Public entities, federally funded organizations, broadcasters, streaming platforms, and businesses selling digital services in the EU all face captioning requirements under different frameworks. The short answer: if you publish video to the public, employees, or students, you likely need captions.

On April 20, 2026, the Department of Justice published an interim final rule extending the compliance dates for web content and mobile application accessibility under ADA Title II. The WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements adopted in April 2024 are unchanged; only the enforcement calendar has moved.

Government entities are responsible for making their social media videos accessible under ADA Title II, even when the platform itself does not offer built-in caption support. We have added a new export option to Recap that lets you burn captions directly into the video frames, producing a file with permanently visible (open) captions that works on any platform.

The DOJ's ADA Title II final rule requires state and local government web content, including video, to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA. But not every video a government entity has ever published must be made accessible by the compliance deadline. The rule defines five specific exceptions, plus additional provisions for fundamental alteration, undue burden, and minimal-impact noncompliance.

This article explains each exception, how it applies to video content, and what obligations remain even when an exception applies.

When a city posts a video to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or X, that video is government web content. Under the DOJ's ADA Title II final rule, it must meet the same WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards as content on the city's own website. The rule does not distinguish between a formal council meeting recording embedded on a .gov site and a 30-second community event clip posted to Instagram Reels.

This article covers what the rule requires for social media video, which posts are exempt and which are not, what accessible social media video looks like in practice, and how the platform-versus-content distinction works.

Your city posts a 90-second video to Facebook announcing a new recycling program. It shows an infographic with collection schedules, a map of service zones, and text overlays with phone numbers and dates. It gets shared 400 times. It has no captions, no transcript, and no audio description. Under the DOJ's ADA Title II rule, that video is a compliance gap, and it is one that cities create dozens of times per month across Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, and their own websites.

This article is for the city clerk, communications director, or media team member who already knows their city needs to make social media video accessible, but needs a practical solution they can present to a supervisor or budget director for final approval.

If you are a city clerk, city manager, or IT director at a local government with 50,000 or more residents, the ADA Title II compliance deadline for your web content is April 24, 2026. That includes every council meeting video, commission meeting recording, public hearing, and informational video on your city website or social media channels.

Many cities are discovering that their current streaming or website vendor has been slow to offer accessibility solutions, or that the quoted costs are far higher than expected. This guide is for the local government staff member who needs to get compliant quickly, practically, and affordably.

State and local governments, including city councils, county boards, and public agencies, face an approaching ADA Title II compliance deadline requiring all web and mobile content, including videos, to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards. Communities with populations over 50,000 must comply by April 24, 2026, while those under 50,000 have until April 24, 2027. This requirement fundamentally changes how government entities publish meeting videos, public announcements, educational content, and other multimedia materials.

This comprehensive guide explains the video accessibility requirements for state and local governments, the compliance deadlines based on population size, and practical solutions for meeting these mandates through transcription, closed captioning, live captioning, and audio description services.

Starting April 24, 2026, state and local governments, including public universities and colleges, must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard under ADA Title II. This requirement significantly impacts how institutions handle video content, podcasts, webinars, and other time-based media. Understanding these requirements now is critical for planning, budgeting, and implementing compliant solutions before the deadline.

This comprehensive guide breaks down each WCAG 2.1 success criterion for time-based media (Guideline 1.2), explains what's required for ADA Title II compliance, and clarifies what goes beyond the minimum requirements.

As colleges expand their digital presence, YouTube has become an essential platform for sharing educational content, lectures, and events. However, universities face legal accessibility requirements to ensure that these videos comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). An ADA audit of your YouTube channels can help identify and resolve potential accessibility issues, particularly with captions. Here's a step-by-step checklist on how to succeed in a YouTube ADA audit for your college's YouTube channels across multiple departments.