Disability and New Media

Web accessibility and technology protection measures: Harmonizing the rights of persons with cognitive disabilities and copyright protections on the web

“…TPM also may prevent assistive technologies from effectively rendering content in accessible formats and changing the primary mode of interaction. Laws that enforce TPMs may treat circumvention of these technologies as a violation subject to civil or criminal penalties (Blanck, 2014a;Ellis & Kent, 2011). While this article recognizes the relevance of technical solutions for removing barriers to participation for persons with disabilities, it is beyond the scope of this article to comprehensively examine how and to what extent TPM create barriers to web accessibility for persons with cognitive disabilities.…”

“…Research on the experiences of persons with disabilities in using digital media also shows that TPM may act as a barrier to accessibility (Ellis & Kent, 2011;Helberger et al, 2004;Kerscher & Fruchterman, 2002;Kramer, 2007). Scholars have broadly claimed that copyright law and policy tends to favor content creators who determine who can use their work and how (Grodzinsky & Bottis, 2007).…”

Disability and mobile Internet

“…In urging a broader, critical approach to disability and Internet that takes seriously social, cultural, and political dimensions, scholars, activists, and those designing, making, and putting technology into practice, have argued that accessibility discussions have tended to be too narrow in their nature (Goggin and Newell, 2003;Ellis and Kent, 2011). Others have critiqued the Web accessibility movement, arguing that disability activists have not been adequately included in its agenda and processes (Adam and Kreps, 2009).…”

“…Technology providers slowly saw people with disabilities as forming an important market. The disability movement advocated in a sophisticated and tough manner for accessible technologies -through, for instance, the movement centering on universal design (Goggin and Newell, 2003;Ellis and Kent, 2011). Legislators and regulators were persuaded of the importance to fair, affordable access for people with disabilities to necessary technology, so provisions were included in many national laws.…”

“…When it comes to disability, the rise of the Internet in the 1990s meant that more people with disabilities used and relied upon the Internet. Further, that the Internet provided an excellent way for them to voice their frustrations, give feedback, and exercise influence if the technology was inaccessible, poorly designed, or in other ways did not meet expectations or satisfy needs (Ellis and Kent, 2011;Ellis, 2015).…”