The Boston Blobe
AOL sued by blind Net users
They say service doesn't accommodate their needs
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 11/05/99
Nine blind citizens of Massachusetts went to court yesterday
against America Online Inc., in a lawsuit that could force the
redesign of thousands of Internet sites. The citizens joined with the
National Federation for the Blind to argue that federal law requires
that AOL design its Internet service so that blind people can use it.
''Blind people have the same rights as everybody else to take part in
the information age,'' said federation president Marc Maurer at a
press conference in Boston.
If the suit is successful, AOL would be forced to make its software
compatible with a variety of computer products that let blind people
''read'' a computer screen. In addition, Maurer hopes the suit will
force similar changes at every Internet retailer, from the smallest
electronic storefront to the largest on-line bookstore.
The case against AOL, filed in US District Court in Boston, rests on
the federation's reading of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a law
passed in 1990 that aims to give disabled people access to equal
opportunities in employment and public services.
A section of the law requires ''public accommodations,'' such as
businesses, to make reasonable efforts to make their services
available to disabled people. The federation hopes to convince a court
that AOL and other Internet-based businesses are public accommodations
under the law, and must be made accessible.
Although there are legal precedents concerning the need for businesses
to make facilities and services available to people with handicaps,
lawyers for the federation said they knew of no case involving the
Internet ever going to trial.
AOL spokesman Rich D'Amato refused to discuss details of the lawsuit,
but said AOL is committed to working with disabled people to make
their software easier to use.
''We have a team of people that are working on these issues and it's a
top priority for us,'' D'Amato said. He added that the next version of
AOL software, due for release next year, will be compatible with
screen reading software for blind people.
Concerns about access to the Internet are understandable, given its
burgeoning importance to the economy and society. Forty percent of all
Americans communicate via the Internet, according to Neilsen
NetRatings. Forrester Research, based in Cambridge, predicts Americans
will spend $20 billion at on-line retail stores this year, and $184
billion five years from now.
Ben Isaacson, executive director of the Association for Interactive
Media, a trade group that represents 400 Net firms including AOL,
Disney and Yahoo, is worried the suit could lead to government
interference with business on the Internet.
''Web sites shouldn't have to comply with any government regulatory
interest but should be doing self-regulatory programs,'' said
Isaacson. He said his organization has no plans to become involved in
the case, but added that he would be willing to contact members and
urge them to do more to accommodate disabled Internet users.
''This industry will do anything,'' Isaacson said. ''They will bend
over backward for additional market share.''
Maurer, the federation president, said blind Americans must not be
shut out. ''I'm determined that we will have access,'' he said. ''We
insist on access to everything.''
Larry Goldberg, director of the National Center for Accessible Media,
based at public television station WGBH in Boston, said his group has
recently begun working with AOL to make the Internet company's
software accessible to blind people. ''AOL approached us four to six
months ago, and having recognized that they had a problem, asked if we
could help them,'' Goldberg said.
Chuck Hitchcock, who designs software for disabled people at the
Center for Applied Special Technology in Peabody, expressed doubt that
a court would stretch the disabilities act to include the Internet.
''I hope they do,'' he said, ''but I'd be quite surprised.''
But Harvard law professor Elizabeth Bartholet said, ''It makes some
sense in that the ADA is an extraordinarly broad act.'' Bartholet said
the law specifically requires telephone companies to provide services
for disabled people; applying it to the Internet may simply be the
next logical step. ''It's not a frivolous issue,'' she said.
AOL is the world's largest Internet service provider with 20 million
users. The service prides itself on its custom-made software, which
many people find much easier to use than other kinds of Internet
software. The AOL software also gives its customers access to a
variety of services not available on the rest of the Internet,
including discussion groups, chat rooms and on-line shopping areas.
But AOL's software lacks features that would make it possible for
blind or visually-impaired people to use the service with screen
reader software that can read pages aloud.
Screen-reader programs are compatible with many computer programs,
such as Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system and Apple Computer
Corp.'s Macintosh operating system. The standard Internet browsers
from Microsoft and Netscape Communications Corp., now owned by AOL,
also work with screen readers.
The AOL software also forces people to use a mouse to go from feature
to feature on the screen. Blind people generally can't use a computer
mouse and must rely on the keyboard. Many programs make it possible to
use the keyboard instead of the mouse to maneuver through the program.
But many features of the AOL software can only be activated with the
mouse.
AOL isn't the only company with problems. Goldberg said that only ''a
small handful'' of the Internet's major sites are accessible to blind
people, even though solutions to the problem are well understood. The
World Wide Web Consortium in Cambridge, the organization that sets
standards for Web site design worldwide, has created guidelines for
Web site designers to help them make their sites accessible to blind
people. But most Web sites simply ignore these guidelines.
Brandy Rose of Taunton, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, is a
student at Bristol Community College. She said she wanted to use AOL
as an aid to her studies, but only got as far as the opening screen.
''I got that far and the screen reader stopped reading,'' Rose said.
''So I gave up.''
Theresa Jeraldi of Watertown says she wanted to use AOL's chat rooms
to stay in touch with her grandchildren. ''But I was told by other
blind people ... not to even bother with it because it was so
inaccessible to the blind.'' Both Rose and Jeraldi have signed on to
other Internet services.
This story ran on page C01 of the Boston Globe on 11/05/99.
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