We apologize for the incorrect version sent previously. DRA BRIEFCASE June 30, 2009 Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is a non-profit legal center whose mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities throughout the United States. TECHNOLOGY ACCESS PROJECT Welcome to DRA's quarterly email newsletter. In this issue, we highlight our technology access project and the significant progress we are making on this critical issue. Background and Impact on the Community Photo of Bruce Sexton Jr., DRA Client "What I hope is that Target and other online merchants will realize how important it is to reach 1.3 million people in this nation and the growing Baby Boomer population who will also be losing vision." When Bruce Sexton, Jr., a blind college student at U.C. Berkeley, came to DRA with a complaint concerning lack of access to Target Corporation's website, little did he know that he would be paving the way toward revolutionary changes in the law governing e-commerce. All that Bruce wanted was to be able to use the Internet just as his sighted classmates could. People who are blind or low vision, as well as people with severe dyslexia, can use the Internet, but only if websites are structured to work with "screen reader" software programs. These programs read out audibly, or in refreshable Braille, the written words on a computer screen. People with certain mobility disabilities access the Internet with keyboard navigation. But for websites to work with screen reader programs and keyboard navigation, they must follow established access guidelines. Unfortunately, most major businesses had failed to take even simple steps to ensure access to their websites. Target's website was typical - it contained thousands of inaccessible images and lacked basic access features needed for a screen reader program to work with the site. Moreover, there were virtually no cases addressing the rights of disabled persons to access the Internet. Nevertheless, DRA took Bruce's case to help bridge the "digital divide" faced by people with disabilities. Photo of Karla Gilbride, John W. Carson Fellowship Attorney at DRA "Technology has enabled me as a blind person to achieve a level of independence in both my personal and professional life that would not have been possible ten or even five years ago. With my screen reader I am able to conduct legal research, shop online, pay my own bills, file my own tax returns, and chat with my friends through email and on social networking websites. When I encounter a website that is inaccessible, it is doubly frustrating because I know that the technology exists to make all Internet content compatible with screen readers and when web developers fail to use this technology, the amazing potential of the Internet to eliminate many barriers in society is thwarted unnecessarily." Significant Cases and Cooperative Agreements NFB v. Target: This case significantly increased awareness of the website accessibility problem and helped establish legal clarity. DRA represented Bruce Sexton Jr. and a major national advocacy group - the National Federation of the Blind (NFB). Initially, DRA negotiated with Target for half a year in an effort to fix the barriers without a lawsuit. But when that proved unsuccessful, DRA filed a class action on behalf of all blind people throughout the country. Target mounted a vigorous defense in which it asserted that no laws required access for disabled people to commercial websites. The court issued two published opinions finding that commercial websites such as target.com are in fact required to be accessible under both the ADA and state laws. Target then agreed to a settlement under which its website is being made fully accessible to people with disabilities. Already, many other businesses have begun voluntarily improving access to their websites now that the Target case has defined the law in this area. As a result, people like Bruce can now use many parts of the Internet just as their non-disabled peers do - to gain access to information, goods and services, to engage in business and financial transactions, to be part of the mainstream economic sphere. DRA co-counseled this case with two private firms: Brown, Goldstein and Levy; and Schneider, Wallace, Cottrell, Brayton, Konecky LLP. Read More (www.dralegal.org/downloads/cases/target/Final_Exhibit_F_press_release.pdf) Cooperative Agreements: Amazon.com, one of the largest and best known Internet retailers, has agreed to make its website, as well as several affiliated websites, fully accessible to people with disabilities. Resulting from efforts asserted by DRA on behalf of NFB, Amazon has committed to provide "full and equal access" to its web pages and ensure that any barriers are eliminated. Furthermore, Amazon will work in partnership with the NFB to address accessibility and any access issues arising out of new and developing Internet technology. In addition to the many people with disabilities who will be able to fully access Amazon.com, this agreement will also have a large impact on other Internet merchants. Amazon serves as a host site for many other Internet retailers that will also be subject to the terms of the agreement. As part of its pledge to ensure accessibility, Amazon has created an Accessibility Committee to assure that accessibility remains a priority even as new Internet technology is developed. Read More (www.dralegal.org/downloads/cases/Amazon/NFB_Amazon_com_agreement.pdf) Following on this precedent, DRA is currently engaged in formal collaboration with Ticketmaster focused on making its website accessible. Smith v. Hotels.com: In a related case, Hotels.com and Expedia.com have agreed to a settlement under which they will add features to their online travel reservations systems so that millions of travelers with disabilities can use their online services to search for and reserve hotel rooms with the accommodations they need. Read More (www.dralegal.org/downloads/cases/Hotels.com/final_nr.pdf) Recent Events Kindle Investigation: DRA, along with several other organizations comprising the Reading Rights Coalition, are working together to enhance the accessibility of the Kindle, the portable device marketed by Amazon for reading electronic books. When Amazon released Kindle 2.0 in February of 2009, many people with disabilities that make reading print difficult or impossible were thrilled to learn that the device included a text-to-speech feature that would allow any book downloaded onto the Kindle to be read aloud by a synthesized voice. The celebration of this breakthrough in technology access was short-lived, however, because the Authors Guild immediately pressured Amazon to remove the audio feature from the new Kindle because of concerns that it would interfere with sales of audiobooks. Read more (www.dralegal.org/projects/Technology_Access/kindle.php) NFB v. LSAC: Leveraging DRA's success in NFB v. Target, DRA is working with NFB and individual law students to impel the Law School Admission Council ("LSAC") to make its website accessible to blind law school applicants. The inaccessibility of LSAC's website means that aspiring law students who are blind or visually impaired cannot register for the Law School Admission Test ("LSAT") or apply to law school, without help from a sighted person. That business establishments, as well as governments and schools, are increasingly (and sometimes exclusively) offering their services over the Internet can provide numerous benefits, such as greater information and more convenient transactions, to blind as well as sighted users. It can only do so, however, if everyone is provided access to the services. The technology exists, but the accessibility guidelines, though well-established, need to be enforced. DRA's lawsuit against LSAC offers not only an opportunity to continue the long fight against barriers that prevent blind people from entering the legal profession, but also to continue the fight to see that technological advances that can help people are not, because of a failure of will or inferior technology, instead used to deny people access. Read more (www.dralegal.org/downloads/cases/LSAC/LSAC_press_release_final.doc) Resources for Creating Accessible Websites National Federation of the Blind (NFB) (www.nfb.org) The Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) (www.cforAT.org) Support DRA: To find out ways to help, please visit our website (www.dralegal.org/donation/index.php) Disability Rights Advocates 2001 Center Street, Fourth Floor Berkeley, CA 94704-1204 USA Phone: (510)-665-8644 Fax: (510)-665-8511 TTY: (510)-665-8716 Email: general@dralegal.org www.dralegal.org Accessibility: To receive a text-only version of this and every DRA newsletter rather than a HTML version, please contact us at: general@dralegal.org