Law Office of Lainey Feingold
Disability Rights Legal Advocacy

Those who believe that web content should be available to everyone regardless of disability received welcomed news on Tuesday, June 19. On that day, a federal district court judge in Massachusetts held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to web-only businesses. The ruling came in a case brought by the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) against Netflix for the streaming video giant’s faiure to provide closed captioning on most of its “Watch Instantly” programming streamed on the Internet.

Netflix had tried to get the case thrown out of court, arguing that the ADA only applies to physical places, and not to a web-only operation like Netflix’ streaming video service. The Judge rejected this argument, and the case will now move forward. The U.S. Department of Justice also played a significant role by entering the case in support of the plaintiffs’ position.

On June 8 Walmart announced that it is now providing the ScripTalk Talking Prescription Containers free of charge to persons with visual impairments as part of a pilot program. The ScripTalk Talking Prescription program is being offered to customers across the country through Walmart mail order, and also at three Walmart stores. This post contains the information you need to order Talking Prescription Containers from Walmart.

The Walmart press release posted here announces a pilot program in which Talking Prescription Containers will be available for blind Walmart customers across the country through Walmart mail order, and also for blind customers at three Walmart stores. This is the first time in the United States that a national pharmacy retailer has piloted talking prescription technology on a national basis. Wal-Mart is working with En-Vision America, maker of the ScripTalk talking prescription program.

The June 6, 2012 Google Alert for Talking ATMs included a news report, posted below, of the “first” Talking ATM in India. It was not the first time the Indian press covered accessible ATMs though. In September 2011 the Hindu Business Times reported on the experience of using a Talking ATM for the first time, but on closer read last Fall’s story may just have been describing temporary installations. Whether or not Union Bank of India has installed the first or second Talking ATM, congratulations go out to advocates in the Indian blind community and that country’s banking industry for recognizing the importance of accessible technology.

The press release posted here announces the expansion of Major League Baseball’s commitment to the accessibility of web and mobile device content. The most recent release of AtBat™ for iPhone and iPad has been designed for accessibility, making MLB the first large sports and entertainment content provider to commit to mobile application accessibility.

2012 is the third season that MLB has worked with the blind community through Structured Negotiations to improve accessibility for fans with visual impairments. Read the press release

The settlement posted here extends the Agreement between Major League Baseball and the American Council of the Blind and its Massachusetts and California affiliates. This is the first agreement of its kind to address the accessibility of applications for mobile devices. MLB has agreed to use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA as its standard for mobile applications, and has recently released AtBat™ for the iPhone and iPad with enhanced accessibility.