[blindlaw] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] URGENT: WE NEED LETTERS TO MAKE E-READERS ACCESSIBLE BY LABOR DAY

[Shannon]

Hello all,
Can any "Joe or Joann" fill out this letter?
I am not a lawyer. I joined the list to ask some questions about law and
blindness issues.
Is it acceptable to send this to the general public?
Thanks
Shannon

-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Norman,
Gary C. (CMS/OSORA)
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 11:51 AM
To: smizner at aclu.org; Blind Law Mailing List (blindlaw at nfbnet.org); 'Charles
Crawford (ccrawford at RCN.com)'; Outside Melanie Brunson
(mbrunson1 at verizon.net); Theresa Stern (tstern at guidedogs.com); Melissa
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Joshua Friedman (jterpslaw at gmail.com); 'E. Anne Benaroya
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Catherine Wolfe; 'mhaineshi at gmail.com'; 'Bernstein, Donna
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elaine at clarityresolutions.com; Rose.Trotter at usa.apachecorp.com;
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Subject: [blindlaw] FW: [Nfbnet-members-list] URGENT: WE NEED LETTERS TO
MAKE E-READERS ACCESSIBLE BY LABOR DAY

Greetings:


I would be appreciative if you will convey letters. The NFB is doing great
work. Information is contained below. Thanks.


Sincerely,
Gary

From: Nfbnet-members-list [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Yingling, Valerie
Sent: Friday, August 30, 2013 12:18 PM
To: nfbnet-members-list at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfbnet-members-list] URGENT: WE NEED LETTERS TO MAKE E-READERS
ACCESSIBLE BY LABOR DAY

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<mailto: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<mailto:lmclarney at nfb.org>