Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 1 of 32
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`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
`
`WESTERN DIVISION
`
`
`CIVIL ACTION NO.
`
`CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT FOR
`DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE
`RELIEF
`
`
`
`NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF,
`on behalf of its members, C. WAYNE DORE,
`CHRISTY SMITH, LEE NETTLES, and
`DIANE NETTLES, on behalf of themselves and
`a proposed class of similarly situated persons
`defined below,
`
` Plaintiffs,
`
`v.
`
`MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF
`TECHNOLOGY,
`
` Defendant.
`
`Plaintiffs, the National Association of the Deaf, on behalf of its members, and C. Wayne
`
`Dore, Christy Smith, Lee Nettles, and Diane Nettles, on behalf of themselves and a proposed
`
`class defined below, by and through undersigned counsel, file their Class Action Complaint for
`
`Declaratory and Injunctive Relief and respectfully allege as follows:
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`1.
`
`Defendant Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT” or “the Institute” or
`
`“Defendant”) makes available a variety of online content on websites that have received, to date,
`
`at least 125 million visitors.1 MIT makes thousands of videos and audio tracks publicly available
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`for free to anyone with an Internet connection, on broad-ranging topics of educational or general
`
`interest. With only a few keystrokes, anyone can access videos ranging from campus talks by
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`President Obama, Noam Chomsky and other “Laureates and Luminaries,” to introductory classes
`
`
`1
`MIT, About OpenCourseWare, http://ocw.mit.edu/about/ (accessed February 3,
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`2015).
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`Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 2 of 32
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`in topics such as computer programming, to higher-level classes in topics such as business and
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`mathematics, to educational videos made by MIT students for use by K-12 students.
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`2.
`
`While MIT claims to make this online content -- which constitutes important
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`services, privileges and advantages that it provides to the general public -- “open and available to
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`the world,” it has largely denied access to this content to the approximately 48 million -- nearly
`
`one out of five -- Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. Many of these individuals require
`
`captioning to meaningfully access the audio component of online audiovisual and audio content.2
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`Much of MIT's online content is either not captioned, or is inaccurately or unintelligibly
`
`captioned, making it inaccessible for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Just as
`
`buildings without ramps bar people who use wheelchairs, online content without captions
`
`excludes individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
`
`3.
`
`MIT is fully aware that captioning is necessary to make online content accessible
`
`to deaf and hard of hearing people. Indeed, MIT, through its News Office, recognized years ago
`
`that “[c]losed captions make videos accessible to those who are deaf or hard of hearing . . . .”3
`
`4.
`
`Plaintiffs the National Association of the Deaf (“NAD”), on behalf of its
`
`members, and C. Wayne Dore, Christy Smith, Lee Nettles, and Diane Nettles, all on behalf of
`
`
`2
`See, e.g., Resolution Letter in Case No. 15-13-6001 from U.S. Dep’t of Educ.,
`Office for Civil Rights, Region XV, to Santa J. Ono, President, at 9-10 (Dec. 18, 2014),
`http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/university-cincinnati-letter.pdf (“Captioning for
`the audio portion of a video is important, as individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may not
`be able to hear the auditory content. Synchronized captioning is also necessary so that a person
`reading captions can watch the speakers on a video and associate relevant body language and
`actions with the speech.”); World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)’s Web Content Accessibility
`Guidelines (“WCAG”) 2.0, Understanding Success Criterion 1.2.2,
`http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/media-equiv-captions.html
`(documenting that captions enable people who are deaf or hard of hearing to watch media).
`
`
`3
`Robyn Fizz, With Move to Kaltura, MIT TechTV now supports closed captions,
`MIT News (Dec. 2, 2010), http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2010/techtv-captions (accessed February 6,
`2015).
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`Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 3 of 32
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`themselves and a proposed class defined below, bring this civil rights action against Defendant
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`MIT to enforce the requirement of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”)
`
`that an educational institution receiving federal financial assistance -- such as the millions of
`
`dollars in federal financial assistance that MIT receives each year -- must not deny persons with
`
`disabilities the benefits of its programs and activities, an obligation that applies to “all of the
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`operations of . . . a college, university, or other postsecondary institution . . . .” 29 U.S.C. §
`
`794(b)(2)(A).
`
`5.
`
`Plaintiffs also seek to enforce Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act
`
`(“Title III”), which requires, among other things, that a public accommodation: (1) not deny
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`persons with disabilities the benefits of its services, facilities, privileges and advantages; (2) not
`
`provide such persons with benefits that are unequal to those provided to nondisabled persons; (3)
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`provide auxiliary aids and services -- including captioning -- where necessary to ensure effective
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`communication with individuals with a disability, and to ensure that such persons are not
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`excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated differently than other individuals; and
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`(4) utilize administrative methods, practices and policies that provide persons with disabilities
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`equal access to its online content. Under Title III, places of accommodation include an
`
`“undergraduate, or postgraduate private school, or other place of education.” 42 U.S.C. §
`
`12181(7)(J).
`
`6.
`
`Because Defendant MIT receives federal financial assistance and is a place of
`
`public accommodation, it is subject to Section 504 and Title III.
`
`7.
`
`By not providing captioning, MIT deprives deaf and hard of hearing individuals
`
`the benefits of its online content, benefits afforded to nondisabled individuals, thereby increasing
`
`the sense of isolation and stigma that Title III, as well as Section 504, were meant to redress for
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`individuals with disabilities. As the Department of Justice has stated, “[b]eing unable to access
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`websites puts individuals at a great disadvantage in today’s society, which is driven by a
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`dynamic electronic marketplace and unprecedented access to information.”4
`
`8.
`
`Despite requests by the NAD to MIT to ensure that its online content has timely,
`
`accurate captioning, MIT has done so only with regard to a fraction of such content, and even
`
`then inadequately.
`
`9.
`
`MIT’s denial of much of its publicly available online content to deaf and hard of
`
`hearing persons violates Section 504 and Title III. Remedying these violations is critical to these
`
`statutes’ goal of ensuring that people with disabilities have the same access that others take for
`
`granted.
`
`10.
`
`Accordingly, Plaintiffs seek injunctive and declaratory relief to ensure that deaf and
`
`hard of hearing individuals have equal, effective, and timely access to MIT’s publicly available
`
`online content.
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`11.
`
`The claims alleged arise under Section 504 and Title III such that the jurisdiction
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`of this Court is invoked pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343. This Court has jurisdiction
`
`over Plaintiffs’ claims for declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and
`
`2202 and Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
`
`12.
`
`Venue over Plaintiffs’ claims is proper in the District of Massachusetts because
`
`Defendant resides in the District of Massachusetts within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1391, and
`
`
`4
`U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Statement of Eve L. Hill Before the Senate Comm. on
`Health, Educ., Labor & Pensions, at 3 (May 14, 2013), available at
`http://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/ola/witness/05-14-13-crt-hill-testimony-re-the-americans-with-
`disabilities-act-and-entertain.201372314.pdf.
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`because the events, acts, and omissions giving rise to Plaintiffs’ claims occurred in the District of
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`Massachusetts.
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`13.
`
`Assignment to the Western Division is appropriate pursuant to Rule 40.1(D) of
`
`the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
`
`PARTIES
`
`14.
`
`Plaintiff the NAD is the nation’s premier civil rights organization of, by, and for
`
`deaf and hard of hearing individuals. The NAD is organized as a non-profit corporation under
`
`the laws of the State of Maryland and has its national headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.
`
`The NAD’s membership includes individuals and associations from all fifty states and
`
`Washington, D.C. The NAD is also the United States member of the World Federation of the
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`Deaf, which comprises more than 120 national associations of deaf people.
`
`15.
`
` The NAD’s mission is to preserve, protect and promote the civil, human and
`
`linguistic rights of deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States of America. This
`
`mission includes ensuring that important tools of daily life -- such as websites conveying useful
`
`and educational information to the general public -- are accessible to deaf and hard of hearing
`
`people.
`
`16.
`
`The NAD furthers this mission in a variety of ways. For example, the NAD
`
`provides guidance about effective captioning on its website and administers the Described and
`
`Captioned Media Program (“DCMP”) through a cooperative agreement with the U.S.
`
`Department of Education. The DCMP promotes equal access to communication and learning
`
`through described and captioned educational media. The DCMP provides services designed to
`
`support and improve the academic achievement of students who are blind, visually impaired,
`
`deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. The DCMP has a library of more than 4,000 titles of
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`described and captioned educational media available for loan to teachers, parents, and students
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`who are deaf, blind, hard of hearing, visually impaired, or deaf-blind.
`
`17.
`
`Additionally, the NAD works for passage of legislation guaranteeing equal access
`
`and effective communication for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. For example, the
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`NAD has been instrumental in the passage of the Twenty-First Century Communications and
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`Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (“CVAA”), P.L. No. 111-260.
`
`18.
`
`The NAD also devotes resources to educating its members and members of the
`
`public regarding their right to access educational programs by publishing position papers on its
`
`website.
`
`19.
`
`Further, NAD has strongly advocated for access to online video content through
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`captioning of audio and audiovisual material in all distribution methods, including internet
`
`streaming and downloading. NAD filed suit against Netflix, alleging that the company’s failure
`
`to provide closed captioning on its streaming video content violated the ADA, which resulted in
`
`a consent decree requiring Netflix to provide captions on 100% of its on-demand streaming
`
`content by September 30, 2014. Nat’l Ass’n of the Deaf v. Netflix, Inc., No. 11-cv-30168-MAP
`
`(D. Mass. Oct. 11, 2012) (Dkt. No. 88). Similarly, in June 2013, NAD announced that it was
`
`working with Apple on captioning of Apple’s iTunes library of television and movie offerings
`
`to ensure that every title in the iTunes library will contain closed captioning or subtitles by June
`
`2015. More recently, the NAD reached an agreement with VUDU, Inc., for VUDU to caption
`
`100% of its online content by January 16, 2015, and all newly acquired content thereafter.
`
`20.
`
`Plaintiff C. Wayne Dore is a resident of Amherst, Massachusetts. Mr. Dore is
`
`substantially limited in the major life activity of hearing, and he requires materials to be in an
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`accessible format -- including captioning -- to be able to participate in and receive the benefit of
`
`MIT’s online content.
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`21.
`
`Plaintiff Christy Smith is a resident of Colorado and is substantially limited in the
`
`major life activity of hearing. Ms. Smith requires materials to be in an accessible format --
`
`including captioning -- to be able to participate in and receive the benefit of MIT’s online
`
`content.
`
`22.
`
`Plaintiff Lee Nettles is a member of NAD and is a resident of Westfield,
`
`Massachusetts. Mr. Nettles is substantially limited in the major life activity of hearing, and he
`
`requires materials to be in an accessible format -- including captioning -- to be able to participate
`
`in and receive the benefit of MIT’s online content.
`
`23.
`
`Plaintiff Diane Nettles is a member of NAD and is a resident of Westfield,
`
`Massachusetts. Ms. Nettles is substantially limited in the major life activity of hearing, and she
`
`requires materials to be in an accessible format -- including captioning -- to be able to participate
`
`in and receive the benefit of MIT’s online content.
`
`24.
`
`Defendant MIT is one of the country’s most distinguished institutions of higher
`
`education. Defendant MIT is a corporation incorporated and with a principal place of business in
`
`Massachusetts.
`
`25.
`
` On information and belief, MIT has received at all times relevant hereto, and
`
`continues to receive, significant federal financial assistance. 29 U.S.C. § 794(a)-(b). This
`
`financial assistance has in the past included federal funding related to web accessibility and,
`
`separately, to study learning in the context of massive online open courses (“MOOCs”).
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`26.
`
`For example, MIT has received federal funding from the National Science
`
`Foundation to study, beginning in 2012, learning in the context of, and data generated by, MIT’s
`
`first MOOC.5
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`27.
`
`As an “undergraduate, or postgraduate private school,” MIT is a place of public
`
`accommodation under the ADA. 42 U.S.C. § 12181(7)(J).
`
`FACTS APPLICABLE TO ALL CLAIMS
`
`I.
`
`MIT’s Online Content.
`
`28.
`
`MIT creates and produces online content that is made available for free to the
`
`general public, and also controls, maintains and/or administers webpages, websites and other
`
`Internet locations (“MIT Platforms”) on which online content is made available to the general
`
`public. For at least the last decade, MIT has made “open and available to the world” this online
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`content, which consists of courses, as well as other educational and general interest content.6
`
`Millions of people across the globe now access the online content produced and/or made
`
`available by MIT.7
`
`29.
`
`MIT Platforms include without limitation:
`
`a.
`
`b.
`
`c.
`
`MIT OpenCourseWare (“OCW”);
`
`MIT Video;
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`MIT on YouTube;
`
`
`5
`Lori Breslow et al., Studying Learning in the Worldwide Classroom: Research
`into edX’s First MOOC, Res. & Prac. Assessment, Summer 2013, at 13,
`http://www.rpajournal.com/dev/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/SF2.pdf.
`
`MIT, About OpenCourseWare, http://ocw.mit.edu/about/ (accessed February 3,
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`Id.
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`-8-
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` 6
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` 7
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`
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`2015).
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`Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 9 of 32
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`d.
`
`e.
`
`f.
`
`g.
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`MIT on iTunes U;
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`MIT Museum’s online content;
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`MIT TechTV; and
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`edX / MITx.
`
`30.
`
`Public comments on some of MIT’s Platforms reveal the breadth of the audience
`
`benefitted by these videos and how enthusiastic that audience is for the opportunity to access the
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`content. For example, public comments on the computer science course that MIT makes
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`available on iTunes U state, “Five stars for simply allowing me the opportunity to learn from
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`such a great school.”; “Welcome to the future of self taught education. I get the benefit of an
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`amazing education and I don’t have to take out $150,000 in student loans to pay for it!”;
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`“Anyone who wants to be educated can have this information for free! Thank you MIT and
`
`Apple.”; “I wanted to learn Python for a new project I was thinking about doing, so I figured I
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`would give this course a chance since it is taught in Python. Very glad I did it . . . . It has
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`changed the way I think about programming, and I am looking forward to taking the Algorithms
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`course next.”; “Wow. This is AMAZING!!! And he was right when he said you can’t be under
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`qualified. Im [sic] only 14 and learned a ton from this.”; and “I attended law school. Soon after
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`graduation I realized I had trained myself in arts outdated. Thanks to MIT for giving me the
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`opportunity to ‘attend’ world class CS courses. Sharing is the beauty of the Internet.” Similarly,
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`in response to the Lean Six Sigma video that MIT makes available on YouTube, public
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`commenters note, “Please upload more videos. I really love to learn from your world class
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`professors.”; “please more videossssssssssssssss”; and various commentators thanking MIT for
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`making the content publicly available. Also of note among the comments on this video are
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`multiple requests for subtitles, i.e., captioning.8
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`31.
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`In addition, via many of the MIT Platforms, including MIT Video, MIT Tech, and
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`MITx, MIT encourages and facilitates viewers sharing its online content on social media.
`
`32.
`
`However, much of the online content produced by MIT, and/or made available on
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`MIT Platforms, has no captioning, or has captioning that is so inaccurate as to make the content
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`inaccessible to deaf or hard of hearing individuals.
`
`33.
`
`MIT has frequently failed to provide accurate captioning to online content that it
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`creates and/or produces.
`
`34.
`
`Further, on information and belief, MIT uses administrative methods, practices,
`
`procedures and policies which result in online content that it creates and/or produces failing to
`
`have accurate captioning.
`
`35.
`
`Also on information and belief, MIT fails to have in place administrative
`
`methods, practices, procedures and policies that ensure that online content that it creates and/or
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`produces has accurate captioning.
`
`36.
`
`MIT has also frequently failed to ensure that online content made available on
`
`MIT Platforms has accurate captioning.
`
`37.
`
`On information and belief, MIT uses administrative methods, practices,
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`procedures and policies which result in online content lacking accurate captioning being made
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`available on MIT Platforms (regardless of whether that content was produced or created by
`
`MIT).
`
`
`8
`MIT OpenCourseWare, Ses 1-2 | MIT 16.660 Introduction to Lean Six Sigma
`Methods, January (IAP) 2008 (July 6, 2009), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQspf3q12mo
`(accessed February 3, 2015).
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`38.
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`MIT also on information and belief fails to have in place administrative methods,
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`practices, procedures and policies that ensure that online content made available on MIT
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`Platforms has accurate captioning.
`
`39.
`
`For example and without limitation, on information and belief, MIT has not
`
`attempted to require that online content created by MIT personnel or professors be accurately
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`captioned as a condition of that content being made available on MIT Platforms.
`
`40.
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`In addition, MIT often makes uncaptioned or inaccurately captioned online
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`content available on its Platforms without itself first adding accurate captioning.
`
`41.
`
`A review of some examples of MIT’s publicly available online content reveals the
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`breadth of content available, the benefit that content confers to members of the general public,
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`and that much of the benefit of that content is denied to deaf and hard of hearing persons because
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`it does not have accurate captioning.
`
`A. MIT OCW
`
`42.
`
`MIT describes its OpenCourseWare (“OCW”) as a “web-based publication of
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`virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent
`
`MIT activity.”9 MIT further states that “[t]hrough OCW, educators improve courses and
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`curricula, making their schools more effective; students find additional resources to help them
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`succeed; and independent learners enrich their lives and use the content to tackle some of our
`
`
`9
`MIT, About OpenCourseWare, http://ocw.mit.edu/about/ (accessed February 3,
`2015); accord MIT OpenCourseWare, 2006 Program Evaluation Findings Report (June 5, 2006),
`at 1, available at http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/global/05_Prog_Eval_Report_Final.pdf (hereinafter
`“2006 Program Evaluation Findings Report) (“MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a large-scale,
`web-based electronic publishing initiative, accessible on the Internet at ocw.mit.edu. Through
`OCW, MIT makes its core teaching materials—lecture notes, problem sets, syllabi, reading lists,
`simulations, etc.—openly available for non-commercial educational purposes. OCW publishes
`those materials in standards-based formats for anyone with access to the Internet.”).
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`world’s most difficult challenges, including sustainable development, climate change, and cancer
`
`eradication.”10
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`43.
`
`OCW’s online content is not limited to students. In fact, according to MIT, the
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`majority of OCW’s audience is not students.11
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`44.
`
`As early as 2005, OCW’s impact was clear: as of that date, “[i]ndividual
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`educators and learners report high levels of current impact on their learning goals, and
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`expectations for even higher impact in the future; institutions worldwide are both using MIT
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`OpenCourseWare materials and publishing their own materials openly—with more than 2,000
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`courses representing over 50 institutions currently available online.”12
`
`45.
`
`As of March 2014, there had been more than 150 million visits to the OCW
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`website.13
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`46.
`
`MIT OCW makes its content available on its own website, www.ocw.mit.edu, and
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`also has a YouTube channel, further described below, that posts content.
`
`47.
`
`The courses available on OCW’s website include video lectures and other
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`materials, such as written course materials. Many of the video lectures are uncaptioned. For
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`example, no captions exist for several of the 26 lectures in the course the “Theory of City
`
`
`10
`MIT, About OpenCourseWare, http://ocw.mit.edu/about/ (accessed February 3,
`
`2015).
`
`
`11
`MIT, Open CourseWare Site Statistics, http://ocw.mit.edu/about/site-statistics/
`(accessed February 3, 2015).
`
`12
`
`13
`MIT, Site Statistics: Monthly Report for March 2014,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/about/site-statistics/monthly-reports/MITOCW_DB_2014_03.pdf (accessed
`February 3, 2015).
`
`
`2006 Program Evaluation Findings Report, at 1.
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`Form”;14 several of the 25 lectures in the course “Mathematics for Computer Science”;15 or any
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`of the three lectures posted in a course titled “Documenting Science Through Video and New
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`Media”.16 Similarly, audio-only tracks entirely lack transcription for the 21 available lectures in
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`a course on “Creating Video Games.”17
`
`48.
`
`On its OCW website, MIT makes available versions of its OCW courses
`
`translated into foreign languages; the translated versions average an additional 500,000 visits per
`
`month.18 To provide these translations, MIT “has formally partnered with seven organizations
`
`
`14
`See, e.g., MIT, Theory of City Form - Lecture 2,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-241j-theory-of-city-form-spring-2013/video-
`lectures/lec-2-normative-theory-i-the-city-as-supernatural/ (accessed February 6, 2015); MIT,
`Theory of City Form – Lecture 3, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-241j-theory-of-city-
`form-spring-2013/video-lectures/lec-3-normative-theory-ii-the-city-as-machine/ (accessed
`February 6, 2015); MIT, Theory of City Form – Lecture 8,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/architecture/4-241j-theory-of-city-form-spring-2013/video-
`lectures/lec-8-transformations-i-london/ (accessed February 6, 2015).
`
`15
`See, e.g., MIT, Mathematics for Computer Science – Lecture 2,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-042j-mathematics-for-
`computer-science-fall-2010/video-lectures/lecture-2-induction/ (accessed February 9, 2015);
`MIT, Mathematics for Computer Science – Lecture 7, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-
`engineering-and-computer-science/6-042j-mathematics-for-computer-science-fall-2010/video-
`lectures/lecture-7-matching-problems/ (accessed February 9, 2015); MIT, Mathematics for
`Computer Science – Lecture 17, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-
`science/6-042j-mathematics-for-computer-science-fall-2010/video-lectures/lecture-17-counting-
`rules-ii/ (accessed February 9, 2015).
`
`
`16 MIT, Documenting Science Through Video and New Media,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/anthropology/21a-550j-dv-lab-documenting-science-through-video-
`and-new-media-fall-2012/lecture-and-lab-videos/ (accessed February 6, 2015).
`
`
`17
`MIT, Creating Video Games – Audio Lectures,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/comparative-media-studies-writing/cms-611j-creating-video-games-
`fall-2013/audio-lectures/ (accessed February 6, 2015).
`
`18
`MIT, Translated Courses, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/translated-courses/ (accessed
`February 3, 2015); Open CourseWare Site Statistics, http://ocw.mit.edu/about/site-statistics/
`(accessed February 3, 2015).
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`
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`Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 14 of 32
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`that are translating OCW course materials into Spanish, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese,
`
`Traditional Chinese, Thai, Persian, Turkish, and Korean.”19 However, few closed captioned
`
`OCW courses are available and no American Sign Language translations of any OCW materials
`
`are available.
`
`49.
`
`MIT OCW also operates “Highlights for High School,” which is posted on its
`
`OCW website and “features MIT OpenCourseWare materials that are most useful for high
`
`school students and teachers.”20 The teacher audience is intended for high school teachers,
`
`parents with homeschooled children, high school administrators, and “[a]nybody interested in
`
`high school education.”21 Uncaptioned videos are part of this program, for example, uncaptioned
`
`videos on an introduction to cognitive neuroscience.22
`
`B. MIT Video
`
`50.
`
`MIT states that “[t]he MIT Video website — developed and maintained by the
`
`MIT News Office — aggregates and curates video produced by the Institute’s offices,
`
`laboratories, centers and administration. This includes feature and editorial videos, event
`
`
`19
`MIT, Translated Courses, http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/translated-courses/ (accessed
`February 3, 2015).
`
`20
`MIT, Highlights for High School, http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/ (accessed
`February 3, 2015).
`
`21
`MIT, Highlights for High School – For Teachers, http://ocw.mit.edu/high-
`school/more/for-teachers/ (accessed February 3, 2015).
`
`22
` MIT, Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience – Video Lectures,
`http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/biology/introduction-to-cognitive-neuroscience/video-lectures/
`(accessed February 6, 2015).
`
`
`
`
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`Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 15 of 32
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`recordings, academic content and more.”23 The website has more than 150 channels and more
`
`than 12,000 videos.24
`
`51.
`
`MIT Video has many uncaptioned videos, including the following examples: a
`
`2013 discussion presented by the MIT Center for International Studies in which MIT professor
`
`Noam Chomsky and civil rights lawyer Chase Madar discuss the leaks attributable to Chelsea
`
`(formerly Bradley) Manning; various talks focusing on the Arab World from a recent conference
`
`hosted by the Center for International Studies called the Starr Forum; a talk aimed at women
`
`scientists titled “How to Communicate to Establish Credibility and Authority Part 1”; a
`
`discussion with artist Olafur Eliasson; and a 2013 talk by a MIT graduate and budding brain
`
`researcher on “Participating in MOOCs.”25
`
`52.
`
`Of the few MIT Video items that have captions, some of the captioning is
`
`unintelligible. For example, a video of MIT professor and novelist Junot Diaz discussing his
`
`2012 MacArthur Fellowship has only inaccurate, unintelligible captioning, as does a SXSW
`
`(South by Southwest) panel that included members of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial
`
`Id.
`
`
`23
`MIT, About MIT Video, http://video.mit.edu/about/ (accessed February 6, 2015).
`
`24
`
`25
`MIT, Book Talk – Chase Mador [sic] & Noam Chomsky,
`http://video.mit.edu/watch/book-talk-chase-mador-a-noam-chomsky-26036/ (accessed February
`4, 2015); MIT, STARR Forum – Arab Spring and its Impact on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,
`http://video.mit.edu/watch/starr-forum-arab-spring-and-its-impact-on-the-israeli-palestinian-
`conflict-11113/ (accessed February 6, 2015); MIT, Center for International Studies Starr Forum
`– Libya: War and its Aftermath, http://video.mit.edu/watch/center-for-international-studies-starr-
`forum-libya-war-and-its-aftermath-10403/ (accessed February 6, 2015); MIT, How to
`Communicate to Establish Credibility and Authority Part 1, http://video.mit.edu/watch/how-to-
`communicate-to-establish-credibility-and-authority-part-1-25149/ (accessed February 6, 2015);
`MIT, Olafur Eliasson at MIT: The Art and Science of Solar Lights,
`http://video.mit.edu/watch/olafur-eliasson-at-mit-the-art-and-science-of-solar-lights-27704/
`(accessed February 6, 2015); MIT, Participating in MOOCs,
`http://video.mit.edu/watch/participating-in-moocs-25044/ (accessed February 6, 2015).
`
`
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`Case 3:15-cv-30024-KAR Document 1 Filed 02/12/15 Page 16 of 32
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`Intelligence Laboratory (“CSAIL”).26 Such unintelligible captioning fails to provide equal
`
`access or effective communication for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.
`
`C. MIT on YouTube
`
`53.
`
`MIT makes online content available through a number of channels on YouTube.
`
`For example, the MIT News channel has, as of February 2015, more than 56,970 subscribers and
`
`more than 18 million views; the MIT OCW channel has more than 661,000 subscribers and more
`
`than 60 million views; MIT’s CSAIL’s channel has more than 15,400 subscribers and more than
`
`2 million views; and MITK12 Videos, a channel “[s]erved up fresh from MIT’s Office of Digital
`
`Learning” that features STEM videos for K-12 students made by MIT students, has more than
`
`21,400 subscribers and more than 2.8 million views.27 These numbers, and MIT’s reach to a
`
`global audience, are growing daily.
`
`54.
`
`Deaf and hard of hearing persons, however, are denied the benefit of many of
`
`these videos. For example, MIT has posted on YouTube a highlight video of a 2009 visit by
`
`President Obama to campus that contains unintelligible captioning;28 numerous lecture videos
`
`
`26
`MIT, Fiction Writer Junot Díaz: 2012 MacArthur Fellow,
`http://video.mit.edu/watch/fiction-writer-junot-diaz-2012-macarthur-fellowmacarthur-
`foundation-12723/ (accessed February 6, 2015); MIT, CSAIL at SXSW: Computing the Future,
`http://video.mit.edu/watch/csail-at-sxsw-computing-the-future-27590/ (accessed February 6,
`2015).
`
`
`27
`MIT News Office YouTube Channel - About,
`https://www.youtube.com/user/MITNewsOffice/about (accessed February 6, 2015); MIT
`OpenCourseWare YouTube Channel – About, https://www.youtube.com/user/MIT (accessed
`February 6, 2015); MIT CSAIL YouTube Channel – About,
`https://www.youtube.com/user/MITCSAIL/about (accessed February 6, 2015); MITK12Videos
`YouTube Channel - About, https://www.youtu