Since Congress enacted the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) in 2010, accessibility requirements for people with disabilities have not kept pace with changing technologies. As a result, people with disabilities do not have equitable access to many essential communication and video products and services. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these accessibility gaps for people with disabilities as online platforms and services became increasingly essential. The CVTA will ensure that people with disabilities have full access to the range of mainstream communication products and services that are necessary to participate equitably in professional, educational, recreational, and civic contexts and will lay a foundation for access to future technologies.

Companies should maintain a culture of accessibility throughout the planning of their products and services. This principle of inclusion calls upon businesses to incorporate accessible features into their products and services early on in their design processes, to meet the needs of people with disabilities as these offerings are made available to the general public. This will ensure that people with disabilities receive equitable treatment, and avoid expensive, less effective retrofits for the companies at a later point in time. In addition to the societal benefits accruing from such cultural accessibility, businesses that make their products and services accessible in this manner can expand their markets to tens of millions of Americans with disabilities. Efforts to include these communities contributes to an enterprise’s success through enhanced customer loyalty and satisfaction. Companies with effective accessibility practices significantly increase their revenues and profit margins.

Providing access to evolving digital technologies breaks down barriers and enhances the ability of people with disabilities to be independent, productive, and socially connected. When able to fully integrate in society, people with disabilities have greater opportunities to participate in, and therefore make contributions to, our workplaces, schools, civic affairs, neighborhood activities, and more.