{"id":14884,"date":"2011-06-29T05:05:32","date_gmt":"2011-06-29T10:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=14884"},"modified":"2011-06-29T05:33:56","modified_gmt":"2011-06-29T10:33:56","slug":"deaf-activists-launch-campaign-against-netflix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/06\/29\/deaf-activists-launch-campaign-against-netflix\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaf activists launch campaign against Netflix"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deaf activists launch campaign against Netflix<\/strong><\/p>\n

by: SUSAN WEBB<\/p>\n

June 28 2011<\/p>\n

Deaf and hard of hearing activists have launched a social media “bombing”
\ncampaign, an online petition and a federal lawsuit to get Netflix to provide
\nbetter access to subtitles for its online streaming movies.<\/p>\n

Netflix is the nation’s leading provider of streamed television and movies
\nover the Internet. Online “instant-play” streaming video is quickly becoming
\nthe main way that Americans watch movies and even television shows.<\/p>\n

But without subtitles, some 36 million deaf or hearing-impaired Americans
\nare being left out of this media revolution.<\/p>\n

Sebastian St. Troy, a consumer-rights activist in Texas, initiated the
\nsocial media “bombing” campaign, urging the public to bombard the company’s
\nFacebook page with comments telling Netflix to “get on top of” the issue, as
\none commenter put it.<\/p>\n

“My daughter has a hearing disability,” the commenter wrote, “and captioning
\nis VITAL to her understanding of programming. This is something Netflix
\nshould be on top of, as a large portion of your audience and potential
\naudience is hearing-impaired. Please consider making this a priority.”<\/p>\n

Another Facebook commenter told Netflix, “Please caption live-stream movies
\nso we can enjoy what others take for granted.”<\/p>\n

St. Troy has also launched an online petition via Change.org, asking Netflix
\nto make it easier for users to find what is currently available with
\nsubtitles, “as Netflix works towards providing subtitles for all of the
\ncurrent and future Netflix content.”<\/p>\n

St. Troy, who is living with HIV, lost most of his hearing last December,
\nprobably as a result of a non-cancerous brain tumor. Since then, he said,
\n“I’ve learned how few entertainment options exist for the deaf and
\nhard-of-hearing.”<\/p>\n

“I have always greatly enjoyed movies and have been an avid Netflix
\nsubscriber,” he commented in an email note to this reporter. “As I started
\nto lose my hearing depression was the largest challenge, along with
\nfrustration, as I could no longer enjoy films.”<\/p>\n

“I learned how to use the closed captioning on my DVD player and television,
\nbut my frustrations increased when I could no longer watch films on Netflix
\nbecause they didn’t offer captioning on a majority of their streaming
\ncontent,” he wrote. “What little content offered by them with subtitles had
\nlimited search options, which caused even greater frustrations.”<\/p>\n

Researching the issue, he said he found “years of promises by Netflix to
\nprovide subtitles,” with little progress.<\/p>\n

St. Troy previously supported other successful campaigns on Change.org, so
\nstarting an online campaign there was “the obvious choice,” he said. “As a
\nconsumer, and knowing that if enough customers take action when a company
\ndoesn’t provide for the needs of customers, I decided that I wanted to
\naffect change.”<\/p>\n

Clara Long of Change.org says the online campaign is based on today’s
\nreality that “companies’ reputations (like our reputations) are displayed
\nand created online.”<\/p>\n

“Online activists fill Netflix’s Facebook page with comments pointing out
\nthat they are not taking the deaf and hard of hearing into account and that
\naffects Netflix’s reputation,” she said. And over 1,200 people have signed
\nthe online petition so far.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the National Association of the Deaf filed a federal lawsuit
\nagainst Netflix on June 16. The lawsuit charges the entertainment giant with
\nviolating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide closed
\ncaptioning for most of its “watch instantly” movies and television streamed
\non the Internet.<\/p>\n

The New York Times has described Netflix as the “only major player in the
\nonline-only video subscription business,” with over 60 percent of streamed
\nvideo services market share, the association noted in announcing the
\nlawsuit.<\/p>\n

“The deaf and hard of hearing community has repeatedly expressed concerns –
\nvia letters, petitions, blogs, and social media – to Netflix about its
\nfailure to provide equal access to ‘Watch Instantly’,” the NAD said.<\/p>\n

“We have tried for years to persuade Netflix to do the right thing and
\nprovide equal access to all content across all platforms,” said NAD
\nPresident Bobbie Beth Scoggins.<\/p>\n

“They chose not to serve our community on an equal basis; we must have equal
\naccess to the biggest provider of streamed entertainment. As Netflix itself
\nacknowledges, streamed video is the future and we must not be left out.”<\/p>\n

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires that all “places of
\nentertainment” provide “full and equal enjoyment” for people with
\ndisabilities. Arlene Mayerson, an attorney with the Disability Rights
\nEducation and Defense Fund, said, “For people who are deaf and hard of
\nhearing, captions are like ramps for people who use wheelchairs.”<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that Netflix’s behavior
\nconstitutes a violation of Title III of the ADA, and to require that Netflix
\nprovide closed captions on all of its streaming content.<\/p>\n

In addition to NAD, other plaintiffs include the Western Massachusetts
\nAssociation of the Deaf and Hearing-Impaired and a deaf Massachusetts
\nresident.<\/p>\n

St. Troy said he is optimistic that with the online campaign and the
\nlawsuit, “Netflix will be forced to do what is right – provide subtitles for
\nall of their streaming content.”<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/peoplesworld.org\/deaf-activists-launch-campaign-against-netflix\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deaf activists launch campaign against Netflix by: SUSAN WEBB June 28 2011 Deaf and hard of hearing activists have launched a social media “bombing” campaign, an online petition and a federal lawsuit to get Netflix to provide better access to…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[114,3472,4621,1655,3621,35,24,9862,190,833,1412,100,630,1228,9721,9861,9863,1335],"class_list":["post-14884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ada","tag-americans-with-disabilities-act","tag-article","tag-bobbie-beth-scoggins","tag-closed-captions","tag-community","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-activist","tag-dvd","tag-facebook","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-nad","tag-national-association-of-the-deaf","tag-netflix","tag-new-york-times","tag-peoples-world","tag-sebastian-st-troy","tag-streaming-video"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-3S4","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14726,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/06\/20\/nad-files-disability-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-netflix\/","url_meta":{"origin":14884,"position":0},"title":"NAD Files Disability Civil Rights Lawsuit against Netflix","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"NAD 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 \u201cWatch Instantly\u201d Streaming Content The National Association of the Deaf (NAD), the nation\u2019s premier civil rights organization of deaf and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26189,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/02\/07\/how-netflix-alienated-and-insulted-its-deaf-subscribers\/","url_meta":{"origin":14884,"position":1},"title":"How Netflix alienated and insulted its deaf subscribers","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"How Netflix alienated and insulted its deaf subscribers The streaming video giant still can't manage to competently produce closed captions By Jon Christian January 30, 2014 In less than a decade, Netflix has assembled an unprecedented library of streaming film and television and organized it with a sophisticated recommendation algorithm\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20274,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/10\/10\/netflix-and-the-nad-reach-historic-agreement-to-provide-100-cc-in-on-demand\/","url_meta":{"origin":14884,"position":2},"title":"Netflix and the NAD Reach Historic Agreement to Provide 100% CC in On-Demand","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Netflix and the National Association of the Deaf Reach Historic Agreement to Provide 100% Closed Captions in On-Demand Streaming Content Within Two Years http:\/\/bit.ly\/Ook4sl (October 10, 2012) Netflix Inc. and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), a non-profit organization, have submitted a joint Consent Decree to a federal court\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7997,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/10\/06\/nad-calls-out-netflix-on-captions\/","url_meta":{"origin":14884,"position":3},"title":"NAD Calls Out Netflix on Captions","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"NAD Calls Out Netflix on Captions On September 9, 2009, the National Association of the Deaf requested that Netflix provide a captioned version of \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d movie that Netflix made available online, for free, for everyone on October 3, 2009. Netflix disregarded the NAD request along with thousands\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27820,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/06\/25\/the-sorry-state-of-closed-captioning\/","url_meta":{"origin":14884,"position":4},"title":"The Sorry State of Closed Captioning","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sorry State of Closed Captioning Streaming video now must provide subtitles for the hearing impaired. There's no guarantee of accuracy, though. One solution: crowdsourcing. TAMMY H. NAM JUNE 24 2014 Imagine sitting down to watch an episode of Game of Thrones\u2014and hardly being able to understand anything. That\u2019s the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6621,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/02\/netflix-ceo-an-insensititive-bastard\/","url_meta":{"origin":14884,"position":5},"title":"Netflix CEO: An Insensitive Bastard","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Netflix's Annual Shareholder Meeting (2009) Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) held its annual shareholder meeting yesterday at its headquarters in Los Gatos, California. The meeting lasted less than half an hour and around fifteen non-employees attended. As usual, only cookies, water, and soda were offered. 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