[Iabs-talk] We Need Your Help! Write A Quick Letter

[Rose Sloan]

Dear Members of IABS,



The advocacy and policy department of the NFB need your help!  The
Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers has submitted a Petition for Waiver to
the FCC asking that e-readers be exempt from the Twenty First Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) accessibility
requirements.  The FCC needs to hear from us – blind people who want access
to e-readers – and the more people they hear from, the better.



Attached is an already formatted letter, but it is up to each of you to
make it personal and select which talking points you want to use.



Please send your completed letters to Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org
 by *8pm on Monday, September 2*.  Valerie will proofread each document to
make sure there are no typos and the customized points are still on
message, and then we will submit the letters all at once when they are due
on September 3rd.



For some background: The CVAA requires that all mobile devices with
advanced communications services (ACS) be accessible to blind people, but
the law allows manufacturers to request a waiver for equipment that is not
intended for ACS.  The Coalition (comprised of Amazon, Sony and Kobo)
claims that the primary purpose of e-readers is reading, and that the ACS
found in e-readers is so incidental and ancillary that it is not an
intended purpose of the device.  We know this is not true – e-readers are
outfitted with built-in web browsers and designed for social media.  The
Coalition also claims that to make e-readers accessible would require a
fundamental overhaul that would render e-readers obsolete, harm the public
interest, and not provide substantial benefit to blind people.  We know
that this offensive claim is also not true.  It is critical that the FCC
hear from all of us – it is the only thing that can defeat the petition.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Lauren McClarney (
lmclarney at nfb.org) or Valerie (vyingling at nfb.org).  We can defeat this
petition!  Please send your letters!



Attached, please find an already formatted letter that you simply need to
fill in the blanks.  Additionally, there are many talking points listed in
the letter.  Choose a few that resonate with you.  If you have any
questions about writing letters, feel free to ask me.  I can reached at
RoseSloan920 at gmail.com.  For your convenience, I also attached the letter I
wrote.



Thanks so much everyone!!



Rose



-- 
Rose Sloan
Northwestern University
School of Education and Social Policy l Social Policy
Northwestern University Club Gymnastics l President
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