DEAF and NEED captions - discrimination against the Deaf

[rr66]

I am DEAF and NEED captions. Zoom blantantly discriminates against the Deaf. I have spent hours trying to get captions working. I cannot get Zoom tech support to help without paying for it. This is BS, I refuse to pay Zoom for tech support to turn on captions when they obviously discriminate against the Deaf.

[Isabella_Carter]

yeah this is stupid. you already have to pay for mostly everything and now this!?! i will not stand for it! 😡

[jadendanae]

I am running into this, and I'm SO frustrated that there isn't a clear fix. I attend classes via Zoom and even reached out to the university for accommodations... Turns out they can't do anything either because of Zoom's stupid, discriminatory rules. 

[Eliot]

hi jadendanae,

please see these zoom support articles for captioning.  The first article is for participants and the others are for hosts.  

For Participants:

Requesting captions in the meeting

If the host has restricted who can enable captions in a meeting, participants will need to request captions be enabled for the current meeting. The host and potentially co-hosts as well, depending on settings, will receive the request and can approve or decline, as well as setting the speaking language.

1. Join a Zoom meeting or webinar. 
2. In the meeting controls toolbar, click Request Captions . 
   A request is sent to the host, with a notification in the center meeting window.
   The host and potentially co-hosts will review the request and then approve or decline.
   If approved, captions will immediately appear for the requestor and others. 

Automatically show captions when available

If you want to always have captions displayed, if they are available in that meeting or webinar, users can adjust their client accessibility settings to make this happen automatically. 

1. Sign in to the Zoom desktop client.
2. Click your profile picture then click Settings.
3. Click the Accessibility  tab.
4. Under Closed Captioning, click the checkbox to enable Always show captions.
   When captions are enabled by the host of the meeting or webinar, captions will be automatically displayed for you. 

Viewing captions in a meeting or webinar (zoom.com)

For Hosts

Managing manual captions (zoom.com)

Managing automated captions (zoom.com)

Enabling and configuring translated captions

https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0059081

Did my response answer your question? If so, please don't forget to mark the reply as an accepted solution.

thanks,  eliot

[jadendanae]

No, your response did not answer my question.

I found OP's thread after searching through every Zoom article related to captions. We wouldn't be here now if I could have found the answer in Zoom's support articles.

In my personal opinion, it would be ideal to have the option to enable live captioning as a participant regardless of the settings determined by the host. The host should not have the control nor the responsibility to determine access to captions. This is, by definition, an accessibility issue. Zoom should be responsible as a company for ensuring accessibility for those protected by the ADA. An accessibility complaint could (and likely should) be filed with the FCC.

Frankly, it's a cop-out to delegate responsibility to meeting hosts (who may or may not be technologically savvy). Further, the solution Zoom provides only sometimes works ("depending on settings"). My frustration is only compounded by the fact that your response implied that I didn't search for an answer myself and again deflected responsibility.

I have yet to find a solution in official Zoom articles, on Zoom Community boards, or even in social media threads. It appears I am not the only person frustrated by the lack of options. It is disheartening to see so many naming this issue without any reasonable response from Zoom.

It seems we will need a novel resolution for this dilemma, as (once again), there does not seem to be a clear solution. Might I suggest policy change? Disability awareness training? Listening to the deaf/HOH community? Any (or all) of the above would be a great start. 

Regardless, address this accessibility issue. Thank you. 

[Eliot]

hi jadendanae,

In response to your posting on Zoom Community, i have expressed my personal comments as a volunteer for the Zoom Community.

From my limited research as a layman, it appears to me that Webex, Teams Meetings and Zoom Meetings allow the host to control the availability of closed captioning and allow participants to turn on their viewing.

You may be interested in what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is doing in this area.

The FCC is in the rule making process for Video Conferencing Access.  FCC Proposed New Rules for Video Conferencing Access, proceeding 23-161 issued August 7, 2023.  To the best of my knowledge, these proposed rules have not been finalized nor adopted by the FCC.

Federal Register :: Access to Video Conferencing

There are many comments on the proposed new rules.  These comments are publicly available. 

Here is a link to search for comments on this FCC proposal.  Use proceeding “23-161”.

ECFS - Search Filings (fcc.gov)

As an example, please see comments from accessibility organizations such as the Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc. (CSD), Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), National Association of the Deaf (NAD), and TDIforAccess, Inc. (TDI). In addition, there are provider organizations that have commented.

July 23, 2024 Ex Parte on IVCS-Accessibility Orgs .pdf (fcc.gov)

Here is a link showing a listing of all the comments so far.

23-161 (fcc.gov)

Some ideas for your consideration are:

Submit a request to your Zoom team for a Zoom enhancement to facilitate users being able to turn on closed captioning without depending on hosts.  Explain how this will help deaf users to fully participate in Zoom Meetings.

Contact one or more of the accessibility organizations to express your ideas and ask for their support.

You may consider reaching out to William Wallace, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, FCC at 202–418–2716, or ***********.

Although I believe that the comment period has expired, you may be able to make ex-parte comments on the proceeding. 

You may reach out to your U.S. congressional delegates to enlist their aid.

thanks,  eliot