Redbox Closed Captioning Lawsuit Alleges ADA Violations

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a federal law that makes it illegal to discriminate against people with physical disabilities. The law was passed in 1990, and later amended in 2009 to make certain the Act covered as many situations as possible. Since the ADA sweeps across several vast sectors of American life, up to four federal agencies can be involved in the Act’s enforcement.

Part of the ADA holds that it is illegal to discriminate in “communications,” which can be interpreted to include entertainment, especially since the Federal Communications Commission enforces this aspect of the ADA.

A new ADA class action lawsuit is alleging that Redbox and similar companies that offer DVD rentals and streaming video are failing to live up the ADA by failing to provide closed captioned videos or even falsely advertising such a feature.

Reasonable Accommodations

Part of the ADA holds that various companies are required to provide “reasonable accommodations” for the disabled. It has been alleged that Redbox does not adequately provide for the deaf and hard of hearing in both their DVD rentals and streaming services. It could be argued that closed captions are a reasonable accommodation, in that it should not be that difficult to add this feature to DVDs and streaming services, which would allow the hard of hearing to enjoy DVD rentals and streaming videos just like everyone else.

False Advertising

It has also been alleged that not only does Redbox fail to make reasonable accommodations in the form of closed captioning, but that they have misled consumers with false advertising. This allegation holds that Redbox advertised that their videos and streaming service provided closed captioning when they did not. Allegedly, this misrepresentation led people with hearing-related disabilities to purchase the streaming service or rent DVDs under the false impression that they would be able to rely on closed captioning.

Civil Action

The ADA is designed to be enforced in a number of ways. In part, it is designed to be enforced by various federal agencies, including the FCC. However, it is also designed to be enforced through legal actions by consumers. Filing Redbox closed captioning lawsuits to enforce the ADA may help pressure companies to comply with the federal law and make sure that the rights of all Americans are respected.

Take Action Now

If you are deaf or hard of hearing and tried renting DVDs or streaming video through Redbox, and found them to be without captioning, you may be entitled to compensation. See if you qualify to join the Redbox closed captioning class action lawsuit now:

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