On March 13, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee, announced legislation that would expand access to captioning and image narration in movie theaters. Specifically, the Captioning and Image Narration to Enhance Movie Accessibility (CINEMA) Act would amend Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) to require movie theater complexes of two or more theaters to make captioning and video description available for all films at all showings. Title III prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the activities of places of public accommodation.
On May 14, NATO at a HELP Committee hearing in relation to the bill entitled, “The ADA and Evolving Technologies: Improving Accessibility From the Movie Screen to Your Mobile Device.
- Testimony of John Fithian, NATO President and CEO