Vox.com Class Action Says Videos Not Accessible to Deaf Viewers

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Vox Media Inc. over allegations Vox.com has barriers that make it difficult if not impossible for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to use the website.

The Vox class action lawsuit was filed by plaintiff Phillip Sullivan Jr., a resident of New York City. He describes himself as a deaf and hard of hearing individual. He alleges Vox violates the civil rights of deaf and hard of hearing individuals because it failed to design, construct and/or operate a website that is fully accessible and independently usable by people who are hard of hearing.

According to the Vox class action lawsuit, about 36 million people in the United States are deaf or hard of hearing, many of whom require captioning to comprehend the audio portion of video content. Closed captioning is a service that displays text on television programming, DVDs or online videos. Unlike subtitles or open captioning which are automatically displayed, the closed captioning feature must be activated by the viewer.

Closed captioning allows deaf and hard of hearing individuals to watch and comprehend the content of videos by reading the captioned text, Sullivan says in the Vox class action lawsuit.

“Just as buildings without ramps bar people who use wheelchairs, video content without captions excludes deaf and hard of hearing individuals,” the Vox.com class action lawsuit states.

Sullivan alleges Vox.com posts videos online without closed captioning despite the technology that is currently available, and which is used at other popular websites including YouTube and Netflix. According to the Vox class action lawsuit, Sullivan browsed Vox.com and intended to watch videos that were posted on the website. However, he was unable to do so because Vox failed to provide closed captioning to allow him to independently watch the videos.

“By failing to make the website accessible to deaf and hard of hearing persons, Defendant is violating basic equal access requirements under both state and federal law,” the Vox class action lawsuit asserts.

Sullivan accuses Vox of discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The Vox.com class action lawsuit asserts violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, violation of the New York State Human Rights Law and violation of the New York City Human Rights Law.

By filing the Vox class action lawsuit, Sullivan seeks to represent himself and a Class of “all legally deaf and hard of hearing individuals in the United States who have attempted to access Vox.com and as a result have been denied access to the enjoyment of goods and services offered by Vox.com, during the relevant statutory period.”

The Vox class action lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief that will require Vox to change its closed captioning policies to comply with federal and state law. Sullivan is also asking the court to grant compensatory damages to Class Members who were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Vox.com.

Sullivan is represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Vox.com Closed Captioning Class Action Lawsuit is Phillip Sullivan Jr. v. Vox Media Inc., Case No. 1:17-cv-02581, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.