Here’s a report from Laura Hazard-Owen at Gigaom.
We’re also sharing a link to a post with another interpretation of what’s going on from a well-known blogger who covers ebooks and e-readers.
Finally, we’ve solicited the views of others. We will update this post if/when we hear back.
Now, from Laura Hazard-Owen’s Gigaom Article:
Amazon, Kobo and Sony are petitioning the Federal Communications Commission to permanently exempt e-readers from certain federal accessibility laws for the disabled, arguing that e-readers are barebones devices designed for a single purpose: reading text.
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Amazon, Kobo and Sony say that if they were forced to comply with FCC regulations and make e-readers fully accessible to people with disabilities, the essential nature of the devices would change, making them more like tablets, more expensive and, overall, less useful for their express purpose.
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Amazon, Kobo and Sony, under the umbrella “Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers” and represented by Covington & Burling, argue (petition embedded below) that e-readers should be exempt from two provisions in the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2010. The provisions require that “equipment used for advanced communications services [ACS], including end user equipment” be “accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities,” and the government can force manufacturers to comply.
Much more in the full Gigaom report.
Note: Nate Hoffelder at The Digital Reader has a different view/interpretation of this filing. You can read it here
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