Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Latest in NAD vs Netflix

Netflix is asking a Massachusetts judge to be allowed to appeal his decision about ADA law. The ruling Federal Judge Michael Ponsor requires the streaming company to put captioning on its Internet videos. The NAD (National Association of the Deaf) filed the lawsuit against Netflix a year ago. Netflix says the ruling is:
"..the broadest-ever extension of the ADA's scope, thereby opening the door to amorphous and seemingly limitless regulation of the Internet in a way Congress did not envision and no other court has accepted. In addition to these troubling consequences for Internet providers, this ruling now opens this case to broad-ranging litigation into every detail of, in particular, Netflix's streaming video business — from the technology it invents to make streaming possible, to its relationships with third parties in the complex supply-chain ranging from upstream video content owners to downstream manufacturers of end-user devices. Interlocutory review, to allow either confirmation or reversal of the Court's decision by the First Circuit, would help settle many of the questions raised by this case — not to mention reduce the spiraling costs of this case, which, as Plaintiffs' recent filings make clear, seeks to open Netflix's entire streaming business to scrutiny and litigation."
Netflix says ADA does not apply to the Internet but the Video Accessibility Act does.