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

[Chela Robles]

You can start a petition on change.org it is very accessible!

On 1/13/12, Lisamaria Martinez <lmartinez217 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 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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