[Nfbc-info] REDBOX DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE BLIND BY FAILING TO PROVIDE ACCESSIBLE SELF-SERVICE KIOSKS

[Lisamaria Martinez]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 12, 2012

CONTACTS:
Bryan Bashin, CEO, Lighthouse for the Blind
(415) 694-7346
Lisamaria Martinez, plaintiff
(510) 289-2577
Michael Nunez of Disability Rights Advocates
(510) 665-8644
Jay Koslofsky of Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky
(510) 280-5627

REDBOX DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE BLIND BY FAILING TO PROVIDE
ACCESSIBLE SELF-SERVICE KIOSKS

Oakland, CA – January 12, 2012 – Recent technological advances are
sweeping the nation, changing the way people buy products and
services. Self-service kiosks with automated, touch-screen interfaces
now allow people to bank, shop, and conduct a wide range of
transactions independently, without the assistance of a clerk. This
technology is fast becoming an integral part of our every day lives.

Although these technologies can make our lives easier, Redbox, a video
rental giant, has chosen to use self-service kiosks with touch-screen
controls that exclude the blind from using its services.  Blind
Californians cannot use touch-screen kiosks that offer only
visually-based controls. A class action lawsuit filed today in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
challenges Redbox’s inaccessible kiosks. The lawsuit is the first of
its kind in the country.

The suit is brought by the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired, as well as five blind individuals, on behalf of blind and
visually impaired people throughout California.  Plaintiffs are
represented by Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”), a non-profit
disability rights legal center headquartered in Berkeley, California
that specializes in high-impact cases on behalf of people with
disabilities. Plaintiffs are also represented by the Law Offices of
Jay Koslofsky; Mr. Koslofsky is an experienced civil rights attorney.

Redbox has a major share of the video rental market. Redbox DVD
rentals account for approximately 34% of the DVD rental market
nationwide. According to Redbox, almost 60 million videos are rented
from its kiosks nationally each month. Redbox kiosks can be found at
thousands of businesses throughout California including Save Mart,
which is a business that is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

For generations, blind and visually impaired people have watched and
enjoyed movies as an ordinary part of daily life. Blind people with
some remaining vision may watch films on their own or with sighted
friends and family who can describe the details and actions of a film.
In addition, many blind people enjoy watching dialogue driven films.
Plaintiff Lisamaria Martinez is a legally blind resident of Union
City, California. ”I love watching movies with my husband and son and
would like to independently rent movies for my family at Redboxes,”
said Lisamaria Martinez.

Plaintiff Joshua Saunders is a legally blind resident of El Cerrito,
California who enjoys watching movies with friends and family. “I’m
not asking for the world here but simply for the ability to rent DVDs
from Redboxes just like everyone else can,” said Joshua Saunders.

Redbox’s inaccessible touch-screen kiosks shut out a large and growing
community of blind Californians. It is estimated that 100,000
Californians are legally blind and as the population continues to age,
the number of adults with vision loss will increase.

The technology exists to make self-service kiosks accessible to the
blind. Accessible ATMs and iPhones make use of tactile controls and/or
screen reading software that enables blind people to use these
devices.

“A lack of accessibility in newly emerging forms of commerce is a
symptom of the overall growing technological divide that blind people
experience when companies fail to build in accessible features at the
onset,” said Bryan Bashin, Executive Director/CEO of the Lighthouse
for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

“Technology is a double edged sword. It has the power to enable
millions, but it can disable many Americans far more than it enables
them if accessibility is not built into technology at the beginning,”
said Jay Koslofsky, Plaintiffs’ attorney of the Law Offices of Jay
Koslofsky.

“Redbox is shutting out thousands of Californians from its services
because it refuses to make its technology accessible to blind
consumers,” said Michael Nunez, Plaintiffs’ attorney of Disability
Rights Advocates.

About Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a non-profit
corporation, is one of California’s oldest organizations serving the
blind and visually impaired community.  The Lighthouse is dedicated to
aiding blind and visually impaired individuals in leading productive,
enriching, and independent lives.

About Disability Rights Advocates (DRA)
Disability Rights Advocates is a non-profit legal center which, for
nearly twenty years, has specialized in high-impact class action
litigation on behalf of people with all types of disabilities.  DRA
litigates nationally and has offices in New York City and Berkeley,
California.

About Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky
Jay Koslofsky is an attorney in private practice with more than 30
years of experience. He specializes in civil rights cases and class
action litigation.

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