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Obama Signs Law to Aid Deaf, Blind With Digital-Age Devices - BusinessWeek
President Barack Obama signed into law a measure requiring smartphones, TV programs, cable program guides and devices of the Internet age to be accessible to Americans with vision or hearing loss.
“It sets new standards, so that Americans with disabilities can take advantage of the technology our economy depends on,” the president said at a signing ceremony at the White House, joined by producer, musician and songwriter Stevie Wonder.
Under the new law, mobile phone companies are required to make Web browsers, text messaging and e-mail on smartphones fully accessible. Cable television companies must make program guides, emergency broadcast information and selection menus accessible to people with vision loss.
“This law opens the door to the digital age for the 25 million of us with vision loss, who have been largely shut out due to inaccessible design,” Paul Schroeder, a vice president at the New York-based American Foundation for the Blind, said in an e-mailed statement. An aging baby boomer population likely means increased rates of vision loss and hearing loss, the group said.
The bill, S. 3304, known as the Twenty-First Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act, passed the Senate on Aug. 5 and the House on Sept. 28.
President Barack Obama signed into law a measure requiring smartphones, TV programs, cable program guides and devices of the Internet age to be accessible to Americans with vision or hearing loss.
“It sets new standards, so that Americans with disabilities can take advantage of the technology our economy depends on,” the president said at a signing ceremony at the White House, joined by producer, musician and songwriter Stevie Wonder.
Under the new law, mobile phone companies are required to make Web browsers, text messaging and e-mail on smartphones fully accessible. Cable television companies must make program guides, emergency broadcast information and selection menus accessible to people with vision loss.
“This law opens the door to the digital age for the 25 million of us with vision loss, who have been largely shut out due to inaccessible design,” Paul Schroeder, a vice president at the New York-based American Foundation for the Blind, said in an e-mailed statement. An aging baby boomer population likely means increased rates of vision loss and hearing loss, the group said.
The bill, S. 3304, known as the Twenty-First Century Communication and Video Accessibility Act, passed the Senate on Aug. 5 and the House on Sept. 28.