[Nfbwv-talk] Action Needed

[Smyth, Charlene R]

Greetings Fellow Federationists, 

 

Please read the below message and provide a letter as requested.

 

Charlene

 

This letter was originally sent to the legislative directors but we are
circulating it to the entire membership for maximum outreach:
 
We need your help!  The Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers has
submitted a Petition for Waiver to the FCC asking that e-readers be
exempt from the Twenty First Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act (CVAA) accessibility requirements.  I have attached
the Petition.  NFB has written comments opposing the request, and we are
asking other groups to sign on.  I have also attached those comments.
But the FCC needs to hear from our members - blind people who want
access to e-readers - and the more people they hear from, the better.
We are asking all Legislative Directors to find people in their
respective affiliates to edit the attached skeleton letter and return it
to us.  The letter is already formatted and has an outline, but it is up
to each person to make it personal and select which talking points they
want to use.  Finished letters should be sent to Valerie Yingling at
vyingling at nfb.org by 8pm on Monday, September 2.  Valerie will proofread
each document to make sure there are no typos and the customized points
are still on message, and then we will submit the letters all at once
when they are due on September 3rd.  We are short on time but I trust
that this issue is pressing to our membership and we will get a good
amount of letters.  
 
For some background:  The CVAA requires that all mobile devices with
advanced communications services (ACS) be accessible to blind people,
but the law allows manufacturers to request a waiver for equipment that
is not intended for ACS.  The Coalition (comprised of Amazon, Sony and
Kobo) claims that the primary purpose of e-readers is reading, and that
the ACS found in e-readers is so incidental and ancillary that it is not
an intended purpose of the device.  We know this is not true - e-readers
are outfitted with built-in web browsers and designed for social media.
The Coalition also claims that to make e-readers accessible would
require a fundamental overhaul that would render e-readers obsolete,
harm the public interest, and not provide substantial benefit to blind
people.  We know that this offensive claim is also not true.  It is
critical that the FCC hear from all of us - it is the only thing that
can defeat the petition.  Regulation is legislation's sister, so I know
we can count on all of you to get a good amount of feedback to the FCC.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me or Valerie.
Looking forward to seeing everyone's letters.  
 
Cheers,
Lauren
 
Lauren McLarney
Government Affairs Specialist
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
200 East Wells St.
Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659 9314 ext. 2207
lmclarney at nfb.org