Facebook has now added the capability for live captions on Facebook Live, Facebook’s platform for broadcasting live videos.
This is fantastic news for accessible communication. Inclusion Scotland has recently made use of live video services such as Facebook Live for events we have run, thus allowing people who aren’t physically able to attend to watch the proceedings as well as comment on them. We have also used services such as from AI Media (one of the options for the closed captions on Facebook Live) at our events, to help remove barriers preventing people with hearing impairments from taking part in the events we run. The ability to combine these features will help with accessiblity not only for people with hearing impairments, but also for people with audio processing impairments, people with Autism Spectrum Disorders, and people who have English as a second language.
You can find details on how to set up closed captions on Facebook Live here.