Closing Existing Gaps in Telecommunications Laws

 
A law making more communication
services accessible; © SXC

US Representatives Edward Markey and Heather Wilson have introduced "The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2008".

The bill would amend the Communications Act to ensure that new Internet-enabled telephone and television services are accessible to and usable by people with disabilities and closes existing gaps in telecommunications laws.

Added Rosaline Crawford, of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), "Digital and Internet technologies are very exciting. They make it possible for TVs and other video devices - of virtually any size - to receive, transmit, and display TV programs and video clips with captions.

Captions make TV programs and video clips accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. As more and more TV programs embrace the Internet, people who are deaf or hard of hearing must not be left behind. Captioning TV programs and video clips shown on the Internet is needed for the same reasons it is needed when shown on TV."

Mark Richert, of the American Foundation for the Blind, stated: "With this measure, people with vision loss will finally have access to everything from text messaging their friends, watching their favourite TV shows, and receiving critical emergency alerts. Video description and accessible user interfaces on television devices are essential in providing information about events on screen for people who are blind or visually impaired." Video description is verbal depiction of key visual elements inserted into natural pauses in television dialogue and is activated by the viewer.

Karen Peltz Strauss, of Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD), said, "H.R. 6320 is a giant step forward toward bringing the Communication Act's requirements for accessible telephone and television services into this century. The various provisions of this legislation—which focus on new and innovative ways to communicate and receive information—build on existing federal policies to ensure that people with disabilities can take full advantage of the Internet advancements enjoyed by everyone else."

REHACARE.de; Source: American Foundation for the Blind

- More about COAT at: www.COATaccess.org
- More about the American Foundation for the Blind : www.afb.org

( Source: REHACARE.de )