The intent of this Success Criterion is to make information conveyed by live audio, such as video conferencing, live speeches and radio Webcasts, accessible through the use of a text alternative. A live text caption service will enable live audio to be accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who cannot otherwise hear the audio. Such services use a trained human operator who listens in to what is being said and uses a special keyboard to enter the text with only a small delay. They are able to capture a live event with a high degree of fidelity, and also to insert notes on any non spoken audio which is essential to understanding the event. A transcript is sometimes a possibility if the live audio is following a set script; but a live caption service is preferred because it plays out at the same pace as the audio itself, and can adapt to any deviations from the script that might occur.
Using untrained operators, or providing a transcript which differs markedly from what actually happens would not be considered meeting this Success Criterion.
This success criterion was intended to apply to broadcast of audio and is not intended to require that two-way audio calls between two or more individuals through web apps must be captioned regardless of the needs of users. Responsibility for providing captions would fall to the content providers (the callers) or the “host” caller, and not the application.