United Kingdom
Hello. This is our story.
A dance made Britain pass a law.
Access on this page: Signed: British Sign Language — pending How this page is tested
In the autumn of 2021 Channel 4's subtitles went dark for eight weeks, and Ofcom later ruled its 90% quota breached. That December a Deaf actor won Strictly Come Dancing, and the whole country watched a silent dance. Four months later, on 28 April 2022, the British Sign Language Act became law — a private member's bill that drew 20th in the ballot and passed anyway. BSL is now, in law, a language of England, Scotland and Wales. The rights are written. The delivery is still one complaint at a time.
BSL video — this story, in our language
A named British Deaf creator tells this page's story in BSL. The video is the page, and the text is its transcript's cousin. This video existing is the reason this page is allowed to exist.
Our language has its own Act of Parliament.
Now we build the delivery — ourselves.
What do you want to do?
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I want access
Watch.Understand.Belong.
Cinema, streaming, and services — in BSL, captions, or audio description.
Go -
I create access
Create.Get paid.Be seen.
Deaf signers, interpreters, captioners, audio describers — your work, your name, your income.
Go -
I provide access
One API.Every screen.
Platforms, governments, cinemas, companies — deliver real access with one integration.
Go -
I back access
Host.Sponsor.Invest.
The builders who will end the one-complaint-at-a-time era — be part of the firsts.
Go
More than one of these can be yours. The access is for you, and you can be paid to help make it.
Access in the United Kingdom today
The law now says:
BSL is a language of England, Scotland and Wales — British Sign Language Act 2022, in force since 28 April 2022, with a report to Parliament on what every department does about it. Channel 4 must subtitle 90% of its hours — and when the subtitles went dark from 25 September to 19 November 2021, Ofcom found the licence breached.
And we all know the exhausting part: every win protects one screening, one service, one channel. The right was never the problem. The delivery was.
We are done winning one complaint at a time. The delivery comes next — made by us. That is what ally is: Deaf and blind creators, paid to make the access — BSL, captions, audio description — delivered to any screen.
In plain words
The law is on your side. What is missing is the service — and that is what gets built here, with the community.
Why captions alone are not enough → Why sign language
Talk to us
Tell us who you are
Write in your own language. We reply in it.
- Emailpartners@a11y.media
- Video messageSend a signed video — no writing needed
Contact us by form, email, or a signed video message — never voice-only.