Understanding FCC Regulations on Closed Captions for YouTube and Broadcast Videos (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hello, my name is Tina, owner-operator of FOM Transcription Services. I decided to create this video because of an email exchange that I had with a gentleman named Eric earlier this month. In the email I received from Eric, he wrote the following, I would like to know if you are versed in the FCC laws. I have recently been told that if you have a video being broadcast that it must have CC. In addition, if you place a video on YouTube that has been broadcast that it must also have CC. My question is this, is having a transcript for YouTube an option as far as the FCC laws are concerned? Any information you can share with me is appreciated, especially if you can point me to an FCC regulation or something. First, I'd like to cover a couple of acronyms that Eric used. FCC stands for Federal Communications Commission, and CC stands for Closed Captions. When responding to Eric, I made sure to let him know, and I would also like to let you all know, I am not a lawyer, and I am not an expert in the FCC regulations, so when I got this email, I went ahead and did a little research. In response to Eric's email, I sent him a couple of links to the FCC website and I will share those links with you. Recently I've poked around a little bit more on the internet and found a couple more links and I will include those for you as well. The first FCC link that I sent Eric addresses regulations, and I will read that, and I quote, Under video programming, the new rules cover full-length video programming. Video clips and outtakes are not required to be captioned when shown on the internet. However, when a captioned TV program is re-shown on the internet in segments, it must be captioned if substantial portions of the entire program are shown in those segments. Consumer-generated media, e.g. homemade videos, shown on the internet are not required to be captioned unless it has been shown on TV with captions. Movies shown on the internet are not required to be captioned unless they have been shown on TV with captions. When it comes to closed captions in YouTube, the automatic transcription that YouTube provides may or may not be FCC compliant. Reasons that it might not be include accuracy and placement, so I suggest that you make sure that those things also comply with the rules. One link that I've included that you might find useful is called Automatic Sync Technologies, the Essential Higher Ed Closed Captioning Guide. It's a white paper and I suggest that you take a look at Chapter 6, Page 9, Accuracy. You will likely find the whole white paper informative. Another link that I'm going to include is called YouTube Introduces New Caption Features and in this link it will show you cool new features that enhance your closed captioning on YouTube. Another question I got from Eric is, have you ever heard of a requirement for DVDs to have captioning? I'm going to include another link to the FCC website and on this page entitled Benefits of Closed Captioning, it says, and I quote, the FCC does not regulate captioning of home videos, DVDs, or video games. Now this discussion is around FCC regulations. They're not the only regulations out there for closed captioning and I suggest that especially if you live in a different country and or region that you check out the laws and regulations pertaining to your area when it comes to closed captions. I am including another link and that goes a little bit further into other areas and other regulations of closed captions but it doesn't include everything or for everywhere. I'd like to thank Eric for his questions. I know I've learned a lot and I hope that you have too. So thanks for watching and best wishes.