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[Apologies for cross posting]<br>
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Forwarded from the Web Accessibility Initiative Interest Group
mailing list. I find this development quite distressing.<br>
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<b>Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement
Be Waved for E-Book Readers</b><br>
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"The ) Twenty-First Century Communications and Video ) Accessibility
Act of 2010 requires companies who make electronic devices to make
them accessible to people with disabilities. At this time, none of
the Ebook readers that are on the market meet this requirement.
Since many companies feel that this requirement should not apply to
Ebook readers, Amazon, Kobo, and Sony have submitted a petition to
the FCC asking for a waiver. According to the petition, this is the
definition of an Ebook reader: "E-readers, sometimes called e-book
readers, are mobile electronic devices that are designed, marketed
and used primarily for the purpose of reading digital documents,
including e-books and periodicals." Since Ebook readers are
primarily designed for print reading, the companies are arguing that
the disabled community would not significantly benefit from these
devices becoming accessible. They also argue that because the
devices are so simple, making the changes to the devices to make
them accessible, would cause them to be heavier, have poorer battery
life, and raise the cost of the devices. Finally, these companies
argue that since their apps are accessible on other devices such as
the iPad and other full featured tablets, that they are already
providing access to their content."<br>
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Source : <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=9286">http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=9286</a><br>
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