AOL Agrees to Make Service Accessible to the Blind
July 27, 2000
AOL Agrees to Make Service Accessible to the
Blind
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OSTON -- To millions of Web surfers, America
Online is a user-friendly guide to the
sometimes overwhelming Internet. But to the
blind, AOL has been little more than a
source of frustration.
An agreement announced Wednesday aims to
change that.
The National Federation of the Blind agreed
to drop a lawsuit accusing AOL of violating
the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.
In return, AOL will make its software
compatible with programs the blind use to
convert digital information to speech or
Braille.
The pact could open the Internet to
thousands of blind people who have been too
intimidated -- or too exasperated, to use
it, according to Curtis Chong, the
federation's director of technology.
"It can happen," he said. "We'll have a
great opportunity for people to go online
with a lot less effort than it takes today."
The federation and nine members of its
Massachusetts chapter filed suit last
November in U.S. District Court in Boston,
claiming AOL, the world's largest Internet
provider with 23 million subscribers, is a
public accommodation.
As such, the Disabilities Act requires it to
provide equal access to the blind, the suit
argued. The federation asked the court to
order AOL to redesign its software so blind
people could use it.
Under the agreement, coincidentally reached
on the law's 10th anniversary, AOL will:
--Adopt a companywide policy with guidelines
for making AOL accessible to the blind and
other people with disabilities.
--Make the next version of its software
accessible to the blind. AOL 6.0 version is
scheduled for release this fall.
--Ensure that other future AOL products are
accessible to the blind.
In one year, the federation will review
AOL's progress and decide whether to proceed
with its lawsuit.
"I'm fully confident they understand what we
need," Chong said. "This could set the tone
for the industry."
The blind navigate the Internet with
programs that read or describe text as a
cursor hits it. But such programs currently
can't read AOL's pages.
Plenty of a blind people are savvy Internet
users and don't need AOL, said Jody Davis,
an attorney for the federation. But those
that don't should be afforded its relatively
easy entry.
"The marketing pitch is that anybody can use
it," Davis said. "The blind need technology
as much as the rest of us."
AOL spokesman Rich D'Amato said that the
company was working on adapting its software
when the suit was filed. But the ensuing
meetings between the two sides accelerated
their understanding of what needed to be
done, he said.
"I think what was really needed was the kind
of conversation and dialogue that occurred,"
he said.
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
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