Although described video is technically mandated by law, its complicated legal status in Canada has allowed many to disregard it entirely. The CRTC has established that it is a legal requirement for every production; however, there are few measures in place to enforce this law as no compliance mechanism was put in place.
In the United States of America, the landmark 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act made it a requirement for all modern communication technologies to be accessible to everyone, regardless of disabilities. In implementing this Act, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) set forth strict regulations surrounding described video, with the aim to, by 2020, have 100% of television programming described.