비선형 콘텐츠의 장애인 접근성 향상에 관한 소고 - 유럽연합(EU)의 지침 분석을 중심으로 -

Viewers are no longer satisfied with the legacy media environment, but are already actively and autonomously jumping into media consumption. Due to this phenomenon, OTT and VOD have become part of our daily life over the last few years. In a situation where outing is restricted due to the recent Covid-19 epidemic, a higher level of access to content as a basic right of human beings, should be provided to the disabled, who have more restrictions on their mobility than the non-disabled people. In terms of universal rights, there is a need to ensure the right to enjoy content for the disabled through non-linear media such as OTT and VOD as well as existing broadcasting media. The European Union enacted the 「Directive on the accessibility requirements for products and services」 in 2019, and in connection with the 「Audiovisual Media Service Directive」 revised in 2018, greatly expanded regulation on audiovisual media services for the disabled including VOD and OTT. It contains not only the mandatory provision of content for the disabled, but also the mandatory provision that requires regular reporting on the accessibility about media content to government agencies in each of member country of the European Union.
In the case of Korea, OTT has already gained market power over terrestrial broadcasters even though it has not been granted appropriate legal status. Opinions among the relevant ministries are still not coordinated as to who and how to regulate this powerful OTT. The national legislation cannot keep up with the changing market. As the size of the OTT market grows, the disabled may be more and more marginalized due to the digital divide and market logic. Therefore, it is urgent to review new media-related laws that can promote and regulate not only existing media but also new media including OTT.
While focusing on the EU’s directives, this study reviews limitations of the current law related to accessibility in a changing media environment and proposes opinions in order to enhance the provision of media content for the disabled. Opinions about definition of legal status for OTT, promotion of production of audiovisual content for the disabled, revision of programs and frameworks relating to the audience along with offering incentives to service providers’ autonomous efforts to enhance accessibility are included.