The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC or Commission) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB or Bureau) seeks comment on its tentative findings on the accessibility and usability of telecommunications and advanced communications services (ACS) and equipment in connection with the biennial report to be submitted to Congress as required by section 717(b)(1) of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA Biennial Report). After the Bureau considers the public comments, which are due August 4, 2020, it will have until October 8, 2020 to submit a report to Congress outlining its final findings.
The Bureau has tentatively concluded that the accessibility and usability of many services and equipment for people with disabilities has improved since the 2018 CVAA Biennial Report’s release. Specifically, there has been substantial progress in ensuring access to smartphones and other smart devices, but there are still gaps in accessibility of feature phones to people who are blind. It also concluded that some providers still fail to make their apps accessible to screen readers. The Bureau seeks comments on these findings and to the extent that some findings are inaccurate, the CGB invites commenters to specify those inaccuracies and propose revisions.
