Report 2021 on the portrayal of disability on air and the accessibility of television programs to people with disabilities
Introduction
The mission of the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication (Arcom) in the field of disability stems from the provisions of the French law of September 30, 1986 on freedom of communication, and is divided into two distinct areas: program accessibility for people with disabilities, and the representation of disability in the audiovisual media.
With regard to program accessibility, the legal provisions are set out in articles 28, 33-1, 33-3 and 56-1, which define the applicable scheme for private terrestrial and non-terrestrial television services, on-demand audiovisual media services (SMAD) and services published by public audiovisual companies respectively. This legal scheme was completed in December 2020 with the creation - as part of the transposition of the new AVMS Directive - of an article 20-6, enshrining Arcom's mission in this area. In addition to the quantitative improvement of accessibility, this article entrusts the Authority with the task of improving the quality of accessibility schemes. Lastly, it broadens the scope of regulation by making provision for AMDS and distributors of audiovisual media services to report to the Authority in this area, in addition to linear television services.
With regard to the representation of disability in the programs of audiovisual media services, the legal provisions are set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 3-1: "The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication [...] ensures that the diversity of French society is represented in the programs of audiovisual communication services, and that this representation is free from prejudice. [...] In particular, it works with audiovisuel service editors to ensure that programming reflects the diversity of French society, given the nature of their programs. The pursuit of this mission relies in particular on a fair representation of people with disabilities, both quantitatively through their presence on air, and qualitatively through the fight agains stereotypes associated with these people.
Finally, in line with this ambition, and despite the absence of legal provisions in this area, Arcom is working to promote the training and professional integration of people with disabilities in the audiovisual industry, in particular by inviting audiovisual media service editors to commit to this approach.
Gist of the report
Report 2021 on the portrayal of disability on air and the accessibility of television programs for people with disabilities
- 2.19 MB
- in french