What this criterion requires
Live video with audio - webinars, streams, live events - must have real-time captions.
Who it helps
People who are deaf or hard of hearing attending live sessions.
Example: fails vs passes
A live webinar streamed with no captions; attendees who are hard of hearing follow nothing.
The same webinar with live CART captioning enabled and visible to all attendees.
Verify the platform actually shows the caption track to viewers, not only to the host.
How to meet and fix it
- Use professional live captioning (CART) or a vetted high-accuracy ASR service for live events
- Verify the platform actually displays the caption track to attendees
Common failures auditors find
- Webinars delivered with no live captions
- Captions available to the host but not enabled for viewers
Automated scanning catches a share of these instantly - run a free check - and a manual audit covers the judgement calls a tool cannot make.
Sources
- W3C, Understanding 1.2.4: Captions (Live) - w3.org/WAI
- W3C, How to Meet 1.2.4 (quick reference) - w3.org/WAI/quickref
Last updated . Reviewed by the EqualWeb accessibility team.
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