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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