Joly MacFie of ISOC NY ALS and Glenn McKnight and others within
ICANN have the skill and probably would be happy to help others
who were interested in doing this to learn more about how it is
done.
Best,
Judith
_________________________________________________________________________
Judith Hellerstein, Founder & CEO
Hellerstein & Associates
3001 Veazey Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008
Phone: (202) 362-5139 Skype ID: judithhellerstein
E-mail: Judith@jhellerstein.com Website: www.jhellerstein.com
Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/jhellerstein/
Opening Telecom & Technology Opportunities Worldwide
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Dear Judith,
Below is more background on the case. Please contact me if you
would like further information.
Sincerely,
Haben
Background on National Federation of the Blind v.
Scribd
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed
a lawsuit last year, in the United States District Court for the
District of Vermont, against San Francisco-based Scribd, Inc.
for failing to design its website and apps in a manner
accessible to blind readers. Rather than providing access to
blind readers who want to read the more than 40 million books
and documents in the Scribd collection, Scribd moved to dismiss
the case. Scribd argued that the ADA applies to public physical
locations, thus allegedly exempting Internet-based businesses
like Scribd.
Confirming what DRA, NFB, and other advocates have argued, the
Court ruled on March
19th that the ADA does indeed cover online businesses.
“Now that the internet plays such a critical role in the
personal and professional lives of Americans, excluding disabled
persons from access to covered entities that use it as their
principal means of reaching the public would defeat the purpose
of this important civil rights legislation,” the Court wrote.
Why did NFB sue Scribd?
The NFB turned to litigation to compel Scribd to program its
website and apps for accessibility after Scribd failed to commit
to providing access for blind readers. Scribd offers an
internet-based “personal digital library” that allows sighted
subscribers to access a collection of over 40 million titles.
For a monthly fee of $8.99, sighted subscribers gain unlimited
access to Scribd’s large collection through its website and
apps, as well as other services, including the ability to upload
their own work to the Scribd collection and participate in
social media features. The website and apps that Scribd uses to
provide its subscribers with access to electronic documents are
not accessible to blind people.
How do blind people access digital media?
The blind use software called screenreaders that allows the
content of websites, apps, and documents to be read aloud or
displayed in Braille on a connected Braille device. When
websites, apps, or documents are not properly coded, they cannot
be accessed with the technology used by the blind.
What does this mean for Silicon Valley and the rest
of the tech world?
The Court’s ruling signals to businesses the importance of
designing websites and apps for accessibility. The decision
impacts all entities that conduct business in Vermont over the
Internet, and just about every online business has customers in
Vermont. Because the Court ruled that the ADA covers
Internet-based businesses, companies will need to ensure their
Internet-based services are accessible to Americans with
disabilities, unless doing so would amount to an undue burden
for a particular entity. To design an accessible website or
app, companies should reference the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines 2.0, a set of technical standards for making
websites accessible to people with disabilities, available at
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/.
What does the disability community think?
Advocates around the country are celebrating the Court’s
confirmation that the ADA applies to online businesses. Only one
other court has held that the ADA covers virtual businesses,
National Association of the Deaf v. Netflix, Inc. Together, the
Scribd and Netflix decisions promise Americans with disabilities
that the ADA’s protections apply to services over the Internet.
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the
Blind, said: “We wholeheartedly applaud the court’s ruling,
which recognizes that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a
comprehensive civil rights law intended to prevent
discrimination against the blind and others with disabilities
and to promote our full and equal participation in all aspects
of society. There can be no denying that full participation in
the economy and society of the twenty-first century requires
access to services provided over the internet. If blind people
are denied such participation, we will be more segregated and
isolated than we have ever been. Fortunately, the process of
making internet services accessible to us is straightforward. We
hope that Scribd will now focus on providing us access to its
vast library of online books and documents rather than on
seeking to deny it. We further hope that other companies will
take the court’s message about the importance of accessibility
to heart and make their online services accessible.”
Through this case, Disability Rights Advocates works to change
attitudes about accessibility not only at Scribd, but throughout
the digital services industry. We hope companies will feel
inspired to make their services accessible after reading the
Court’s decision.
The Lawyers
The plaintiffs are represented in this matter by Laurence
Paradis, Haben Girma, and Rebecca Rodgers of the firm Disability
Rights Advocates; Daniel F. Goldstein and Gregory P. Care of the
Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein and Levy, LLP; and Emily J.
Joselson of the Middlebury, Vermont firm Langrock Sperry &
Wool, LLP.
About Disability Rights Advocates
With offices in New York and California, Disability Rights
Advocates (DRA) is one of the leading nonprofit disability
rights legal centers in the nation. Its mission is to advance
equal rights and opportunities for people with all types of
disabilities nationwide. In the organization’s 20+ year history,
DRA has taken on more than 400 cases and won almost
all—achieving dramatic improvements for people with
disabilities seeking health care, employment, transportation,
education, disaster preparedness planning, voting and housing.
www.dralegal.org
About the National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not
the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we
raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations
create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can
live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back.
www.nfb.org
Contacts
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations, National Federation of the Blind
Haben Girma
Skadden Fellowship Attorney, Disability Rights Advocates