[Electronics-talk] Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act [was "Re: Issues with Cox remote top boxes"]

Christopher Chaltain chaltain at gmail.com
Wed Jan 25 03:16:55 UTC 2012 

According to an article in the January 2012 issue of Access World, the
bill was signed into law by the president on October 8,2010. BTW, that
article was also posted to this list earlier, in case you want to read
more on this act and the time line for filing complaints and enforcement.

In that article, it also said:

"While it's true that the FCC doesn't  have a very good track record of
aggressive enforcement of communications accessibility laws, it's
equally true that the disability community has  generated precious few
complaints to hold industry accountable for the uniformly  bad job it
has done to make traditional and mobile phones accessible. If the
vast array of new expectations created by the CVAA are going to have any
meaning, individual consumers must refuse to put up with unusable
technology and be willing to make their voices heard through the
complaint process."

I think this does a very good job of stating that we need to work to
make this change. We aren't going to have anything handed to us; We can
just give up and assume it'll never get better or that
telecommunications company's will figure it out on their own, or we can
work together to get these laws passed, file complaints when they are
ignored and ensure that the laws of the land are obeyed. I think this
stands a lot more chance of being successful than just giving up and
quitting because things never change for the better anyway.

On 24/01/12 20:44, Dewey Bradley wrote:
> So do you know if the president has signed it?
> My understanding was that he supports it.
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christopher Chaltain"
> <chaltain at gmail.com>
> To: "Discussion of accessible electronics and appliances"
> <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 8:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top boxes
> 
> 
> According to what I read, it already passed Congress. As to whether
> it'll make any difference or not, it stands more chance of making a
> difference than throwing your hands up, feeling sorry for yourself and
> not doing anything at all or do you have a better idea?
> 
> On 24/01/12 18:21, Ray Foret Jr wrote:
>> How much you want to bet it aint gonna even pass congress or even if
>> it does, that it aint gonna result in anything much at all?
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!
>>
>> Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!
>>
>> Skype name:
>> barefootedray
>>
>> Facebook:
>> facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1
>>
>>
>>
>> On Jan 24, 2012, at 5:44 PM, GeorTsoukala at aol.com wrote:
>>
>>> It is the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility
>>> Act.
>>> I have copied an article below.
>>> George
>>>
>>>
>>>    AccessWorld ®
>>> Technology and People Who Are  Blind or Visually Impaired
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> January 2012 Issue  Volume 13  Number  1
>>>
>>>
>>> From AFB's Policy  Center
>>> The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act:
>>> Highlights of a New Landmark Communications Law
>>> Mark Richert
>>>
>>> If you would have told me a decade ago that one day there would be a law
>>> requiring virtually all text communication, mobile phone Web
>>> browsers, TVs,
>>> and  broadcast emergency alerts to be fully accessible to people who are
>>> blind or  visually impaired, I would likely have told you to keep
>>> dreaming. But
>>> if you  also told me that this same legislation would be stronger
>>> than any
>>> communications law for people with disabilities previously enacted,
>>> that it
>>> would result in more than 60 hours a week of described video
>>> programming,
>>> and,  amazingly, that it would permanently make up to $10 million per
>>> year
>>> available  to put expensive communications equipment in the hands of
>>> people
>>> who are  deaf-blind, I might have told you that you have a rich,
>>> albeit nerdy,
>>> fantasy  life.
>>>
>>> As incredible as it sounds, such legislation is now the law of the land,
>>> thanks to the passage of the Twenty-First Century Communications and
>>> Video
>>> Accessibility Act, or CVAA. While readers of AccessWorld are no doubt
>>> some of
>>> the more savvy and connected folks who follow developments in technology
>>> policy,  this brief rundown of what the CVAA does was written to
>>> provide a
>>> better  understanding of the changes people who are blind or visually
>>> impaired
>>> can and  should expect from the communications, consumer electronics,
>>> and
>>> video  programming industries.
>>>
>>> Communications
>>> Long before the CVAA became law, telecommunications  equipment
>>> manufacturers and service providers had some limited responsibilities
>>> for ensuring that
>>> people with disabilities could independently make phone calls  and
>>> use both
>>> traditional and mobile phone technologies. Under these  long-standing
>>> rules, the equipment and services provided need only be accessible 
>>> when doing so
>>> doesn't require a company to invest much money or effort to make  it
>>> happen. What's more, with some exceptions-such as caller ID and
>>> address book
>>> functions-the old rules were limited to phone call accessibility. The
>>> many
>>> common functions people use their phones for today, such as text
>>> messaging,
>>> email, and browsing the Internet, were not covered. That's where the
>>> CVAA comes
>>> in. Now, companies that make communications equipment or offer related
>>> services  must make advanced functions such as electronic messaging
>>> accessible
>>> unless it's  simply not possible to do so. In effect, the CVAA raises
>>> the
>>> bar considerably in  terms of what companies are expected to do for
>>> communications accessibility, and  goes a long way to clarify
>>> accessibility standards
>>> and responsibilities.
>>>
>>> Any time a member of Congress talks about regulating something
>>> related to
>>> the Internet, people get skittish. So when access advocates made it
>>> clear
>>> that  full accessibility, including Internet accessibility, was
>>> required if
>>> people  with vision impairment were to have full use of the devices and
>>> services they  pay for, both industry and Congress got a bit nervous.
>>> Nevertheless, advocates  insisted that any law lauding itself as a
>>> twenty-first century
>>> accessibility law  had to deal with the Internet. As a result, the
>>> CVAA does
>>> cover Internet access,  but in a bit of a limited way. The CVAA
>>> states that
>>> whenever electronic  messaging is offered-whether it's on a mobile
>>> phone, a
>>> desk phone, a desktop  computer, or some other device-it must be
>>> accessible
>>> to people with  disabilities. In the case of Internet browsing, however,
>>> the law is a bit  narrower. Only the browsers on mobile phones need
>>> to be
>>> accessible, and the  CVAA, rather unusually and disappointingly,
>>> limits this
>>> accessibility  requirement to those who are blind or visually
>>> impaired. Those
>>> with other  disabilities are not covered.
>>>
>>> Though the electronic messaging and Internet browser access requirements
>>> are already considered to be in effect, noncompliance complaints will
>>> not be
>>> heard by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) until October 2013.
>>> Why  this strange timeline? The law was signed by President Obama on
>>> October
>>> 8, 2010,  and the FCC was required to issue regulations implementing
>>> the new
>>> law one year  from that date. As part of the process for developing
>>> those
>>> rules, the FCC heard  from industry that at least a two-year
>>> transition period
>>> would be required to  adequately prepare for the new mandates. The
>>> accessibility community raised  strong objections to the two-year
>>> delay, so the FCC
>>> compromised by requiring  that the new access obligations begin
>>> immediately,
>>> but that complaints about  noncompliance won't be entertained until the
>>> two-year window has passed. So,  starting in October of 2013, a
>>> complaint can
>>> be filed with the FCC concerning  equipment or service inaccessibility
>>> experienced at any time, including  retroactive complaints dating
>>> back to the
>>> start of the law's implementation. In  other words, if you buy a
>>> mobile phone in
>>> 2012 that doesn't offer you accessible  text messaging or e-mail
>>> functionality, you can complain to the FCC about it-in  October of
>>> 2013. In any event,
>>> once the complaint is filed, the FCC will work  with you to resolve the
>>> complaint with the company. If the complaint is not  resolved, the
>>> FCC will
>>> make a final determination-which could involve anything  from a
>>> finding that
>>> your complaint is without merit or that the company violated  the
>>> accessibility law-within six months. If a company is found to have
>>> violated  the CVAA,
>>> it may be liable for financial penalties (payable to the United 
>>> States),
>>> and/or maybe required to a change in behavior on the company's part
>>> to ensure
>>> accessibility going forward. The FCC is also empowered to make the
>>> consumer
>>> whole, meaning that complaint resolution should include putting an
>>> accessible phone in the hand of the consumer at no additional cost,
>>> even if the
>>> accessible phone is a higher priced, more feature-rich device.
>>>
>>> Video Programming
>>> As exciting as the CVAA communications requirements  are in terms of
>>> their
>>> potential to revolutionize our personal and workplace  inclusion and
>>> competitiveness, the CVAA video programming provisions are sure to 
>>> be among the
>>> new law's most popular features. First and foremost is the CVAA
>>> unambiguous
>>> requirement that greatly increases the availability of video 
>>> description of
>>> prime-time and children's programming. While PBS has offered  described
>>> programming for years and a couple national broadcast networks have
>>> described a
>>> few programs here and there, the commercial broadcasting, cable, and
>>> motion picture industries have fought tooth and nail to prevent video
>>> description from becoming a right of the blind and visually impaired
>>> television
>>> audience. The CVAA unambiguously establishes that the four national
>>> broadcast
>>> networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox, as well as the top-ranked channels'
>>> USA, the
>>> Disney Channel, TNT, Nickelodeon, and TBS, must describe at least 50
>>> hours
>>> of  their prime-time and/or children's programming during each calendar
>>> quarter.  That's an average of at least four hours per week.
>>>
>>> These new video description regulations make a bit of a distinction
>>> between
>>> the obligation of the CVAA-covered networks to provide description
>>> and the
>>> obligations of your local station or rural cable company to pass that
>>> description on to you. There are some protections in the CVAA for
>>> small cable
>>> providers and for local stations that would experience a serious
>>> technological  and/or financial burden in order to provide the
>>> service. That said,
>>> since  passing through description shouldn't be a big technical or
>>> financial
>>> deal for  almost every station and cable provider in America, we
>>> should assume
>>> that  description will be very widely available.
>>>
>>> So, beginning next July, what do you do if your favorite show isn't
>>> being
>>> described or you can't seem to get your hands on a description? You of
>>> course  can contact your local station or cable provider and ask them
>>> how to
>>> receive  their pass-through of the described programming. You can
>>> also contact
>>> the  national networks to request that a given program be described.
>>> If your
>>> local  station or cable provider tells you that they do not pass
>>> description
>>> through or  that they don't know how to make it happen for you, you can
>>> lodge a complaint  with the FCC. While the station or cable provider
>>> might
>>> reply that they don't  have to guarantee description and/or that passing
>>> description through would  constitute prohibitive cost, the FCC needs
>>> to determine
>>> whether either of those  claims is true. As a side note: the disability
>>> community asked the FCC to set  parameters for stations and cable
>>> providers who
>>> might claim that getting  technically up to speed to pass description
>>> through would require more than a  modest cost, and the FCC declined.
>>>
>>> A related issue is how to tune into a program if our TV and/or cable
>>> box or
>>> satellite equipment is itself inaccessible. The CVAA states that digital
>>> TVs and  other devices that receive and play broadcast and cable
>>> programming
>>> must have  controls that allow people with vision loss to use all
>>> programming-relevant  menus, to scan channels, to easily turn on
>>> description for
>>> programs offering it,  and to manipulate any and all features related
>>> to these
>>> functions. Gone will be  the days when simply using the volume control
>>> requires sighted assistance.
>>>
>>> As always, there are a few provisos. While equipment like digital TVs
>>> will
>>> have to provide accessible controls and menus out of the box, cable and
>>> satellite providers need only make their equipment accessible upon
>>> the request
>>> of a customer. Why the difference? Well, some tech experts have pointed
>>> out that  the set-top box's days are numbered in terms of being the
>>> primary
>>> way for cable  and satellite companies to securely deliver their
>>> programming,
>>> so including them  in the law would be legislating a dying technology.
>>> Regardless, whether access  is built into the device or provided upon
>>> request,
>>> it's clearly required by the  CVAA. Implementation of this
>>> requirement is
>>> still being defined, but will  certainly take place over multiple
>>> years. AFB is
>>> playing a leadership role in  this process, joining industry and
>>> advocates
>>> to set the direction the FCC will  follow in issuing the next major
>>> set of
>>> regulations to make all this possible.  It's a slow process, but in
>>> the end it
>>> will result in substantial improvements  to accessibility.
>>>
>>> Other Key Benefits of the CVAA
>>> As mentioned earlier, the CVAA will break  down enormous barriers for
>>> those
>>> of us who are deaf-blind by establishing, for  the first time, a
>>> clear and
>>> substantial source of funding for the often  incredibly expensive
>>> equipment
>>> needed to communicate interpersonally and via the  telephone or the
>>> Internet. This $10-million program, administered by the FCC  through
>>> an array of
>>> agreements with organizations and consortia from around the  country,
>>> will
>>> provide both equipment and training in the use of equipment.  Methods
>>> for
>>> procuring equipment and receiving training will depend on location. 
>>> As of this
>>> writing, the FCC is still setting up various agreements with regional
>>> organizations and agencies, but the bottom line is that the CVAA will
>>> fill a  huge
>>> gap by creating a reliable resource pipeline.
>>>
>>> The CVAA also fills a gap in the way emergency information is
>>> broadcast to
>>> those of us who can't see on-screen text. The status quo simply
>>> alerts the
>>> viewer with vision loss about emergency information through a simple
>>> tone.
>>> The  CVAA says that the FCC will establish more meaningful ways for
>>> viewers
>>> with  vision loss to access emergency information, particularly through
>>> audible  messages containing the text of the displayed emergency
>>> alert. AFB is
>>> leading  advocacy efforts as the FCC hammers out the specifics of this
>>> element of the  law.
>>>
>>> Future Issues
>>> Of course no single law can anticipate every contingency  or address
>>> every
>>> problem-particularly a law concerned with communications
>>> accessibility-but
>>> the CVAA does tackle a wide array of barriers to access.  Devices that
>>> aren't yet covered by the CVAA but that will clearly need to be
>>> addressed in the
>>> future include:
>>>
>>> Hand-held gaming devices that also allow users to text each other.
>>> TVs  that connect to the Internet and allow phone calls.
>>> The increasing number of  devices that can connect to the Internet
>>> but are
>>> not within the communications  and entertainment realm, such as the
>>> kitchen
>>> appliance or the thermostat that  can be manipulated from the cloud.
>>> With respect to multi-function devices,  like the gaming device that
>>> also
>>> offers text messaging, the CVAA regulations  state that the FCC will
>>> look
>>> both to the way a device is designed and how the  device is marketed to
>>> determine what the primary purpose of a given device  really is. If
>>> that primary
>>> purpose is not a communications function covered by  the CVAA, the
>>> device need
>>> not be accessible. So, does the gaming device that  offers text
>>> messaging
>>> need to be accessible? If the device is designed to allow  the user
>>> to send
>>> and receive text messages between individuals and is at all  marketed
>>> for its
>>> ability to do so, it should be covered by the CVAA. That said,  the CVAA
>>> allows industry to petition the FCC for a waiver of coverage for
>>> mixed-function devices that they argue have a primary purpose other
>>> than CVAA-covered
>>> communication. We'll have to watch for any such petitions and  respond
>>> accordingly. We also need to do a much better job in our community
>>> with complaint
>>> generation and follow-through. While it's true that the FCC doesn't 
>>> have a
>>> very good track record of aggressive enforcement of communications
>>> accessibility laws, it's equally true that the disability community
>>> has generated
>>> precious few complaints to hold industry accountable for the
>>> uniformly bad
>>> job it has done to make traditional and mobile phones accessible. If the
>>> vast array of new expectations created by the CVAA are going to have any
>>> meaning, individual consumers must refuse to put up with unusable
>>> technology and
>>> be willing to make their voices heard through the complaint process.
>>> Remember  that if you think that a device you're using is
>>> noncompliant, and
>>> you're willing  to take action, AFB stands ready to help as you
>>> navigate your way
>>> through the  complaint process.
>>>
>>> Comment on This Article
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Copyright © 2012 American Foundation for the Blind. All rights reserved.
>>> AccessWorld is a trademark of the American Foundation for the  Blind.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In a message dated 1/24/2012 6:15:16 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>>> dewey.bradley at kc.rr.com writes:
>>>
>>> Do you  know what bill it is, I couldn't find it, I wasn't aware that it
>>> had
>>> passed
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From:  <GeorTsoukala at aol.com>
>>> To:  <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 5:08  PM
>>> Subject: Re: [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top  boxes
>>>
>>>
>>>> I believe it was part of the law that passed in  2012.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> In a message dated 1/24/2012 3:18:12  P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
>>>> dewey.bradley at kc.rr.com  writes:
>>>>
>>>> Isn't  there a bill in congress to require  companies to make that
>>>> stuff
>>>> accessible?
>>>>
>>>> -----  Original Message ----- From: "Julie  Phillipson" 
>>>> <jbrew48 at verizon.net>
>>>> To: "Tony Sohl"   <tonysohl at cox.net>; "Discussion of accessible
>>> electronics
>>>> and  appliances" <electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent:  Tuesday, January 24,  2012 2:04 PM
>>>> Subject: Re:  [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox remote top   boxes
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> a few years ago there was some articles I  think in the  monitor
>>>>> but it
>>> may
>>>>> have been from access world  or could have been  both.  It compared
>>>>> a few
>>>>> models as to  which were the easier ones  to use.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Julie Phillipson
>>>>> ----- Original  Message ----- From: "Tony Sohl" <tonysohl at cox.net>
>>>>> To:   <Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>>> Sent: Tuesday, January 24,  2012  1:40 PM
>>>>> Subject: [Electronics-talk] Issues with Cox  remote top  boxes
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi I was  wondering are there any accessible  cable boxes on the
>>>>>> market
>>>> or
>>>>>> any way I can access the menus such  as turning on the  second audio
>>>>>> program for DVS? If anyone has  some  suggestions, then let me know.
>>>>>>  _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Electronics-talk  mailing list
>>>>>> Electronics-talk at nfbnet.org
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>>>>>> To  unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
>>>>>> for
>>>>>> Electronics-talk:
>>>>>>
>>>>
>>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/electronics-talk_nfbnet.org/jbrew48%40verizon.net
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>  _______________________________________________
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>>>>> for
>>>>> Electronics-talk:
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>
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> 
> 


-- 
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at gmail.com

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