[tabi] Fw: [VICUG-L] Fwd: [Disabilities Network of NYC] Wash Post: Congress passes bill to make Internet, smartphones accessi ble for blind, deaf
- From: "Lynn Evans" <evans-lynn@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:42:41 -0400
FYI
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From: "Rachel" <rachel720@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <VICUG-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2010 11:08 PM
Subject: [VICUG-L] Fwd: [Disabilities Network of NYC] Wash Post: Congress
passes bill to make Internet, smartphones accessi ble for blind, deaf
Congress passes bill to make Internet, smartphones accessible for blind,
deaf
Congress passed a bill on Tuesday night that would make the Internet and
mobile phones more accessible to people with disabilities. The legislation
will go to President Obama next week to sign into law.
Advocates for the blind and deaf say the 21st Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act would ensure that Web sites and makers of consumer
electronics consider the vision- and hearing-impaired, who have been left
behind as more communications tools move to the Web.
Specifically, the legislation allows blind consumers to choose from a
broader selection of cellphones with speech software that calls out phone
numbers and cues users on how to surf the Internet. It makes new TV shows
that are captioned available online with closed-captioning. TV remote
controls would have a button that makes it easier to get
closed-captioning.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), author of the House bill, said the American
Disabilites Act 20 years ago mandated physical ramps into buildings.
"Today, individuals with disabilities need online ramps to the Internet so
they can get to the Web from wherever they happen to be,” Markey said.
“The ADA mandated physical ramps into buildings. Today, individuals with
disabilities need online ramps to the Internet so they can get to the Web
from wherever they happen to be,” said Markey.
For more on the topic, please check out an earlier story outlining the
issues:
By Cecilia Kang
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 17, 2010; A10
Blind and deaf consumers, who have fought to make home phones and
television more accessible, say they are being left behind on the Web and
many mobile devices. Touch-based smartphone screens confound blind people
who rely on buttons and raised type. Web video means little to the deaf
without captioning.
But legislation is in the works to put pressure on consumer electronics
companies that revolutionized an earlier generation of technology for the
vision- and hearing-impaired.
"Whether it's a Braille reader or a broadband connection, access to
technology is not a political issue -- it's a participation issue," said
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), the author of a House bill aimed at
making the Internet more accessible to people with disabilities. "We've
moved from Braille to broadcast, from broadband to the BlackBerry. We've
moved from spelling letters in someone's palm to the PalmPilot. And we
must make all of these devices accessible."
The consumer electronics, entertainment and communications industries have
been slow to include people with disabilities, some lawmakers and
advocates say. Big companies have fought government regulators dictating
new technical requirements, saying that the industry is better equipped to
make its own engineering decisions.
Apple's iPhone has built-in speech software for the blind, but other
smartphones require users to buy costly programs for the same functions.
Some broadcasters put videos on the Internet with captions, but not all.
That can make inaccessible everything from political videos that are now
common on the Web to pop culture clips that turn viral.
Last week, for instance, the "White Board Girl" clip of a fictitious
employee quitting on a dry erase board or JetBlue flight attendant Steven
Slater's comments fresh out of jail didn't have closed-captioning for the
deaf or hard of hearing.
Markey's legislation and a companion bill in the Senate would make
mandatory some of the changes in technology that industry is slow to adopt
on its own. It would allow blind consumers to choose from a broader
selection of cellphones with speech software that calls out phone numbers
and cues users on how to surf the Internet. Legislation would make new TV
shows that are captioned available online with closed-captioning. Remote
controls would have a button that makes it easier to get closed captioning
on TV sets.
But gaps would remain. Videos made and shared by users on YouTube and
Facebook wouldn't require captioning. Vision-impaired cellphone users will
in many cases have to download speech software at an extra cost.
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