[governance] Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement Be Waved for E-Book Readers

[Catherine Roy]

[Apologies for cross posting]

Forwarded from the Web Accessibility Initiative Interest Group mailing 
list. I find this development quite distressing.

*Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement Be 
Waved for E-Book Readers*

"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."

Source : http://www.blindbargains.com/bargains.php?m=9286



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