via The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (6.16.11):
National Association of the Deaf Files Disability Civil Rights Lawsuit against Netflix
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Plaintiffs Charge that Netflix Violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by Not Providing Equal Access to its “Watch Instantly” Streaming Content
The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the nation’s premier civil rights organization of deaf and hard of hearing individuals, announced the filing of a major federal lawsuit against Netflix today in U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Western Division in Springfield, MA (Case No. 3:11-cv-30168). The lawsuit charges the entertainment giant with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide closed captioning for most of its “Watch Instantly” movies and television streamed on the Internet.
The New York Times has described Netflix as the “only major player in the online-only video subscription business.” Netflix has over 60% of the streamed video services market share.
An estimated 36 million Americans are deaf or hard of hearing. The deaf and hard of hearing community has repeatedly expressed concerns—via letterspeetitionsbllogsanssoociamedia—to Netflix about its failure to provide equal access to “Watch Instantly.”
“We have tried for years to persuade Netflix to do the right thing and provide equal access to all content across all platforms. They chose not to serve our community on an equal basis; we must have equal access to the biggest provider of streamed entertainment. As Netflix itself acknowledges, streamed video is the future and we must not be left out,” said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins...
>>>To See the Full Press Release...
What additional advocacy steps do you think our community should take to place pressure on Netflix? Share your thoughts in comments below.
Not just Netflix. Hulu on the iPad also does not have close captioning as far as I can tell and if someone can tell me how to get close captioning on iTunes TV shows, I'd be very appreciative.
Posted by: Elizabeth | June 17, 2011 at 05:11 PM
I couldn't agree more!! NOTHING is more frustrating than not being able to enjoy a movie beause of the inconsiderate individuals behind Netflix. It has had me to the point of tears, arguments with family members who don't fully understand how hard it is to not be able to enjoy the simple things in life anymore, due to my hearing loss!! More power to you all. God Bless.
Posted by: Karen M. Bireley | June 17, 2011 at 05:12 PM
I would like to just get my regular DVDs with subtitles intact. I am trying to watch season 3 of "Breaking Bad" right now, and the menu offers options for English, French, and Spanish, but the English subtitles seem to be disabled. I've received other shows and movies that don't offer English subtitles at all.
I don't know who to complain to about this.
Posted by: SA | July 01, 2011 at 06:11 PM