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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Hello All,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Here is the link to the article, followed by the text of the article:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46894463">https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46894463</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Domino's Pizza app must be accessible to blind people<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>16 January 2019<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Image copyright GETTY IMAGES<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Image caption<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Domino's is accused of failing to make its app fully compatible with Apple's accessibility software<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Domino's Pizza has been told its website and app must be made fully accessible to blind people, after losing a legal case in the US.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>It follows a complaint from a blind customer who said he first struggled to change toppings and then was unable to complete a pizza's purchase using the company's iPhone app.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>The plaintiff's case was initially dismissed in 2017 but was successful on appeal.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>It may now set a precedent for others.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Guillermo Robles began his legal action against the restaurant chain in 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>He highlighted that Apple's smartphones featured built-in screen-reading software to help their visually impaired owners use the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>However, the software relies on images and other visual elements within a website or app being tagged with text.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>In Domino's case, Mr Robles said both the company's app and website lacked the labelling required for him to use its Pizza Builder facility or to complete an order.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>In addition, he said, he was unable to make use of discount vouchers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>This, he argued, put the company in breach of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, which says it is unlawful for businesses to deny individuals with disabilities access to their goods and services unless the effort involved places them under an "undue burden".<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>In 2017, a Pasadena federal court judge dismissed Mr Robles's claim on the grounds that the government had yet to issue regulations about what apps and websites had to do to be compliant with the law.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>But a three-judge appeals panel reversed that decision on Monday, saying that the lack of specific rules did not mean that the food chain escaped its responsibility to provide "full and equal enjoyment" of its services to blind people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>In doing so, the judges sent the case back to the district court, which must now issue a fresh ruling based solely on whether the app adequately communicates its functions to blind users.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Image caption<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>Mr Robles had complained that it was difficult to customise the toppings on Domino's pizzas<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>One disability rights campaigner celebrated the decision on her blog, where she urged other companies to spend money on making their online services accessible instead of on legal fees.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>"I hope this strong opinion... will put an end to many of the fights over legal issues in the accessibility space," wrote Lainey Feingold.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>In the UK, the Royal National Institute of Blind People also welcomed the ruling.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>"All organisations have a responsibility under the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that their websites and apps can be used by blind and partially sighted people, including those who use screen readers," a spokeswoman told the BBC.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>"It's a perennial problem here in the UK and one we continue to address by working with companies to provide consultancy around web accessibility, as well as challenging them where necessary."<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>A spokeswoman for Domino's was unable to comment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'>The Courthouse News press agency has reported that there is another similar case pending in the US in which a blind man has claimed his screen-reading software was unable to properly interpret a supermarket chain's website.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Tonia Trapp, secretary<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>National Federation of the Blind of New Mexico</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>nfbnewmexicosecretary@gmail.com<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>www.nfbnm.org<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>Live the life you want.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:black'>The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.</span><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>