“This page is a digitally archived AccessInfo Announcement”
FCC rules implementing the Twenty‐first Century Communications and Video Accessibly Act of 2010 (CVAA) require equipment used for advanced communications services (ACS) to be accessible to individual with disabilities. The FCC may waive these ACS accessibility requirements for devices that are capable of accessing ACS, but are designed primarily for purposes other than using ACS.
On February 1, 2016, the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau indefinitely extended the waiver it initially granted in 2014 for a distinct, narrow class of basic e‐readers. Basic e‐readers that qualify for the waiver are designed primarily for the purpose of reading text‐based digital works, such as books, and must meet each of the following requirements:
- The device has no LCD screen, but rather utilizes a screen that is designed to optimize reading.
- The device has no camera.
- The device is not offered or shipped to consumers with built‐in ACS client applications and the device manufacturer does not develop ACS applications for its respective device, but the device may be offered or shipped to consumers with a browser and social media applications.
- The device is marketed to consumers as a reading device and promotional material about the device does not tout the capability to access ACS.
The E‐Reader Coalition is required to submit a report on February 1, 2019 that includes a study of the technological development, marketing, and consumer use trends in the basic e‐reader market, after which the FCC will consider whether to make any adjustments to the waiver, including termination, if the FCC determines that ACS has become a primary or co‐primary purpose of these devices.
For further information, contact Eliot Greenwald, Deputy Chief, Disability Rights Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 418‐2235 or Eliot.Greenwald@fcc.gov.