One Step Forward, Three Back: Feds Grant Waivers from Accessibility

October 15, 2012. In a move guaranteed to annoy many disability and accessible technology advocates, the FCC granted waivers to three powerful industry trade associations today. They waived compliance with rules under the new 21st CVAA law we all fought for and need so much. Well-paid lawyers and lobbyists from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) had petitioned earlier this year for waivers of the FCC?s rules requiring advanced communications services and equipment to be accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. If there is a bright side, it is that the FCC granted limited waivers only, expiring October 8, 2015 and for specific devices and services.

Each of the petitioners requested waivers for classes of equipment or services that may provide advanced communications services features or functions but whose primary purpose is something other than advanced communications.? Advanced communications services or functions include things like Internet voice communication, electronic messaging or email, or interoperable video conferencing services. Other primary purposes might be? watching television or playing video games.

CEA requested a waiver for IP-enabled television sets or IP-TVs and IP-enabled digital video players or IP-DVPs manufactured before July 1, 2016. NCTA requested a waiver for set-top boxes leased by cable operators to their customers and manufactured before July 1, 2016. ESA requested waivers for gaming devices, services and software until October 8, 2021, or for almost ten years!

Despite many protests by advocates -- including many COAT-related groups such as the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI), the RERC on Telecommunications Access, Missouri Council of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and a large number of individual consumers -- America's multi-billion dollar telecommunications industry secured temporary exemptions from making things accessible.

COAT notes that CEA's 2,000 member companies expect annual revenue this year to surpass $200 billion for the first time in history. See CEA statement here. COAT also notes that NCTA's cable TV members serve more than 90 percent of U.S. households with over 57 million TV subscribers and more than 23 million voice customers, earning $97 million last year. See cableTV/broadband industry statistics here and annual revenues here. No less of a player, ESA's video game member companies benefitted from $25 million spent on such games last year and revenue likely to grow as more devices become multi-purpose. (See list of ESA member companies here.)

While disappointed with the time length of the waivers, COAT is pleased to see the FCC's CGB properly analyzed the petitions on a case-by-case basis using the statutory process appropriately. Read the FCC's Order here on these waivers and how these trade associations argued for barriers to access for people with disabilities.??

If you have a thought about these waivers, please use the comment box below.

Source: http://www.coataccess.org/node/10118

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