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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> ACB-Conversation@acblists.org [mailto:ACB-Conversation@acblists.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>peter altschul via acblists.org<br><b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, January 28, 2025 12:02 AM<br><b>To:</b> acb-conversation@acblists.org; Oregon-L@acblists.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [ACB-Conversation] FW: Facebook update<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Making Meta Accessible: Update on Latest Improvements<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Friday, January 24, 2025<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The National Federation of the Blind recognizes that accessible technology is crucial for blind individuals to live the lives we want. Accessibility barriers are preventable and unacceptable, hindering our full participation in society. Therefore, we actively collaborate with technology companies to enhance the accessibility of their products. Our contributions have significantly improved, and will continue to improve, the tools used by blind people. In October 2024, we initiated discussions with Meta regarding accessibility regressions on<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Facebook. The most critical concern was the deprecation of the MBasic Facebook site.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Although this version was originally designed for mobile devices with limited capabilities, its simple, text-based layout made it a viable alternative<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>to the increasingly inaccessible Facebook desktop site for blind screen reader users.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The MBasic site was discontinued for security reasons, and it seems Meta may not have fully understood the extent to which blind users depended on it.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We are committed to collaborating with Meta to ensure the main Facebook site becomes fully accessible to screen reader users. We are encouraged by Meta’s willingness to work towards this goal.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>However, there is an urgent need to restore Facebook accessibility for those who access the platform solely through desktop or laptop computers. The absence of accessible options, particularly during the holiday season, has been frustrating and isolating for many.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thanks to the advocacy efforts of the National Federation of the Blind, Meta has introduced a URL that forces the current mobile Facebook experience to work on modern desktop/laptop browsers. Effective immediately, you can visit this URL: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/?force_mobile=1">https://www.facebook.com/?force_mobile=1</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We recommend bookmarking this URL in your browser for a simpler, text-based Facebook experience. While we appreciate Meta's response to our advocacy and the introduction of this workaround, we offer the following caveats:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Unfortunately, there is currently no easy way to navigate from one post to another. We suggest that each Facebook post be identified by a heading or landmark to improve navigation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• The page scrolls infinitely, so there is no set number of posts per page.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>• Since this page is designed for mobile browsers, there may be other issues our testing has not yet uncovered.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If you have any feedback on the functionality of this work-around, please send it to Jonathan Mosen, the NFB’s executive director for Accessibility Excellence,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="mailto:jmosen@nfb.org">jmosen@nfb.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Members have also provided us with feedback about regressions in Facebook for iOS. The most impactful bug related to difficulty composing posts because what users typed in the composer was not being seen by VoiceOver. We have assisted Meta to identify this issue, and we know Facebook users will be pleased that a fix is rolling out for this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Finally in this round of fixes, Facebook has already rolled out an efficiency improvement to the timeline. Facebook made a change in the last year which meant that a user’s profile picture was seen as its own element by VoiceOver. This meant that each post required two swipes when navigating. This has now been restored to the previous, more efficient behavior.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>There is more to do, and we would have preferred that the deprecation of the MBasic site had not resulted in such prolonged inconvenience for many blind people. Nevertheless, Meta has been receptive to our concerns and worked with us in good faith. Our partnership with meta is stronger as a result, and we are continuing to dialog with them on a range of issues, including improvements to the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>If you have concerns you wish to report about any technology you are using, we encourage you to make your own constructive approaches with the assistance of our Self-advocacy Toolkit. You can also alert us to issues you are having, by completing our Inaccessibility Tracker form.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>We look forward to ongoing dialog with Meta that makes further needed accessibility improvements.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:white'>_._,_._,_<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:center;line-height:normal'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><hr size=2 width="100%" align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Links:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p>You receive all messages sent to this group. <o:p></o:p></p><p><a href="https://acblists.org/g/ACB-Conversation/message/15863" target="_blank">View/Reply Online (#15863)</a> | <a href="mailto:creatingcommonground@outlook.com?subject=Private:%20Re:%20%5BACB-Conversation%5D%20FW%3A%20Facebook%20update" target="_blank">Reply to Sender</a> | <a href="https://acblists.org/mt/110854411/12354" target="_blank">Mute This Topic</a> | <a href="https://acblists.org/g/ACB-Conversation/post">New Topic</a> <br><a href="https://acblists.org/g/ACB-Conversation/editsub/12354">Your Subscription</a> | <a href="mailto:ACB-Conversation+owner@acblists.org">Contact Group Owner</a> | <a href="https://acblists.org/g/ACB-Conversation/unsub">Unsubscribe</a> [margo.downey@roadrunner.com]<o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";color:white'>_._,_._,_<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></body></html>