Thread: Kindle-ADA lawsuits settled
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Old 01-13-2010, 09:58 PM   #1
Nate the great
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Kindle-ADA lawsuits settled
Four lawsuits were settled in the past few days. Three involved the US Justice Dept and universities which had started Kindle DX pilot programs; one lawsuit was brought by the National Federation for the Blind against Arizona State University.

Quote:
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced separate agreements under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Pace University in New York City and Reed College in Portland, Ore., regarding the use in a classroom setting of the electronic book reader, the Kindle DX, a hand-held technological device that simulates the experience of reading a book.
from:
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/J...0-crt-030.html
Quote:
Phoenix, Arizona (January 11, 2010): The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the American Council of the Blind (ACB), and Arizona State University (ASU), today announced a settlement agreement resolving litigation filed by NFB and ACB against the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and ASU. The lawsuit arose from the university's participation in a pilot program using the Kindle DX, a dedicated device for reading electronic books, or e-books, developed by Amazon.com, Inc. The NFB and ACB alleged that the Kindle DX was inaccessible to blind students and thus violated federal law. ABOR and ASU denied and continue to deny any violations of the law.
from:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=527

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Before you say of course this was the right decision, allow me to demonstrate the absurdity of the lawsuits. The basis for the suits was that the Kindle DX was not accessible to the blind. Well, neither are the paper textbooks that the Kindle DX was replacing. Obviously we should stop using them as well.

I could list a bunch of examples, but I won't. The point I'm trying to make is that schools currently use lots of technology that is inaccessible to the blind. They are required by federal law to meet the needs of the disabled, which is accomplished to varying degrees. There is no reason that the accommodations provided for paper textbooks could not be duplicated for digital textbooks.

FYI: The Americans with Disabilities Act is a US law that requires equal access be given to the disabled.
Last edited by Nate the great; 01-13-2010 at 10:01 PM.
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