Last week, inaccurate reporting emerged in regards to Apple’s work on making its products accessible to all consumers. As many Apple customers are aware, and as CEO Tim Cook takesextremely seriously, Apple works hard to ensure that Macs, iPhones, iPods, and iPads can be used to their full extent by people who are deaf or blind, for example. In response to the reporting (Philip Elmer-DeWitt has a good summary of the original reporting and takedowns at Fortune), Mark A. Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, has published a comprehensive blog post describing Apple’s work on accessibility, the technology industry as a whole, the resolution regarding iOS device accessibility, and what can be done to improve accessibility of third-party apps into the future.
On Friday, the president of the National Federation of the Blind clarified the group’s recent resolution calling on Apple to collaborate with the group’s efforts to expand accessibility among third party apps, noting a “good relationship” despite a “provocative and poorly reported article” on the subject released by Reuters. Mark A. Riccobono addressed Apple and the NFB’s recent resolution regarding the accessibly of apps for iOS devices in a blog update linked to by John Gruber of Daring Fireball. Riccobono noted the resolution involved a longstanding debate within the group and that “the issues raised in the resolution are not new.” However, he also noted that “some media reports made inaccurate assertions about the resolution, its content, and what actions the NFB will take to carry it out.” He continued, “Many of these inaccurate assertions have been fueled by a provocative and poorly reported article from the Reuters news service, linked here only for reference. Reuters has already been forced to correct the article because it reported, inaccurately, that the National Federation of the Blind once brought suit against Apple, Inc. “This never happened, although a demand letter was sent regarding the accessibility of iTunes and iTunes U, and the Massachusetts Attorney General opened an investigation. Those actions resulted in a voluntary agreement with Apple that was a significant step in getting us the accessibility we experience today.”
