[nfbcs] Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement Be Waived for E-Book Readers

Fri Aug 9 17:21:57 UTC 2013

Mike, you are aware that Congress already passed the CVAA, right? First 
of all, that means it's mostly up to the FCC now and possibly the courts 
after that, not Congress. Besides, if Congress dislikes this kind of law 
so much why'd they pass it in the first place?

I was the first one in this list to speculate about the possibility that 
the FCC may grant the waiver that Amazon and Sony are asking for. But 
speculating that the FCC might grant the  waiver is a far cry from 
saying the law itself is "unenforceable". A law isn't "unenforceable" if 
the FCC chooses to not enforce it. If a cop chooses not to give someone 
a speeding ticket, that doesn't mean speeding laws are unenforceable.

I really have no opinion on the probability that the FCC will grant the 
waiver Amazon and Sony are asking for. It seems unlikely to me because 
their reasoning makes so little sense. But I don't really know. This 
whole thing reminds me of the debate over the probability that the ACB 
would win it's lawsuit on accessible money. I think it's not so much our 
government that's against this kind of thing as it is Mike Freeman.

On 08/09/13 09:57, Mike Freeman wrote:
> It is unenforceable due to political reasons, not constitutional ones. Congress is double-plus allergic to enacting mandates upon industry. Therefore, if any corporations raise a stink, you can bet they'll be listened to, at least by the House of Representatives. That's why NFB is not pushing either the Technology Bill of rights or its younger sibling, the Home Appliance Accessibility Act. I'm not making judgments on this; I'm just acknowledging political reality.
>
> I consider that we will have to file comments with FCC opposing amazon and Sony. I merely express a fear that we will lose. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try; it just means we should not wear rose-colored glasses.
>
> With this post, I will cease responding to further posts in this thread as it is clear that we need to respond and further comments are simple waste of bandwidth.
>
> Mike Freeman
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Stevens
> Sent: Friday, August 09, 2013 7:27 AM
> To: 'NFB in Computer Science Mailing List'
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement Be Waived for E-Book Readers
>
> Hi, everyone,
>
> Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution lists the powers granted to Congress.  The third of these reads, "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes."  I'd say it's blatantly obvious that Amazon and Sony engage in commerce among the several states (and for that matter, with foreign nations).  Let's not forget that these words, known as the interstate commerce clause, were used to uphold the Civil Rights Act when it was challenged back in the '60's.  With this, I don't know how we can assume the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which is established law, is unenforceable.  We cannot...cannot...cannot simply roll over because we've fallen into this myth that only companies who do direct business with the government can be mandated to incorporate full accessibility into their products.
>
>     Ryan
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Mike Freeman
> Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 6:53 PM
> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The Accessibility Requirement Be Waived for E-Book Readers
>
> No, John; I merely consider the law unenforceable.
> Mike
>
> On Aug 8, 2013, at 15:17, "John G. Heim" <jheim at math.wisc.edu> wrote:
>
>> Huh? This is about the Twenty-first Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act.  Are you saying you don't think that law should ever have been passed?  These companies are saying they don't want to comply with an existing law.
>>
>> [I must be in Mike's killfile.]
>>
>> On 08/08/13 16:08, Mike Freeman wrote:
>>> I guess I'm a minority of one but I truly don't see how we can
>>> philosophically justify protesting except possibly on moral grounds
>>> if e-reader manufacturers leave us out. IMO that's their prerogative.
>>> By the same token, though, they have to take the consequences, i.e.,
>>> that they cannot market to Government or schools. That's where the
>>> stick lies. There ain't no carrot.
>>>
>>> Mike Freeman
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nfbcs [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kevin
>>> Fjelsted
>>> Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2013 12:19 PM
>>> To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
>>> Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Amazon and Sony Are Requesting That The
>>> Accessibility Requirement Be Waived for E-Book Readers
>>>
>>> * The FCC needs to be flooded with well thought out public comments
>>> before the comment period expires.
>>> * Social media such as FaceBook, Twitter Linked in… needs to be used
>>> to help as many people as possible know what Amazon and the other
>>> companies are doing.
>>> * If any school is considering purchasing or taking advantage of an
>>> Amazon or other eReader that is not accessible they need to be called
>>> out in a constructive way and pointed to the laws re: accessibility
>>>
>>> On Aug 8, 2013, at 2:12 PM, "Jeanine Lineback"
>>> <jeanine.lineback at gmail.com>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbcs mailing list
> nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbcs:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/rysteve%40comcast.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbcs mailing list
> nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbcs:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/k7uij%40panix.com
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfbcs mailing list
> nfbcs at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbcs:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/jheim%40math.wisc.edu
>

-- 
---
John G. Heim, 608-263-4189, jheim at math.wisc.edu