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U.S. Access Board calls for public comment on accessibility guidelines for SSTMs

Self-service transaction machines (SSTMs) and kiosks are a common feature in places of public accommodation, government offices, and other buildings and facilities. They typically have touchscreen interfaces with on-screen buttons or a keyboard. Without a physical keypad or other tactile controls, these machines are unusable by many people who are blind or have low vision if the information is not provided audibly. They also frequently lack captioning and text equivalents for audible information. 

The U.S. Access Board has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) on supplemental accessibility guidelines for different types of SSTMs, including electronic self-service kiosks, for persons with disabilities.

The Board seeks comments on accessibility related to the various types of self-service transaction machines (SSTMs), use and design of SSTMs, location of SSTMs, and economic impacts on small business, non-profit, and governmental entities in the implementation of accessible SSTMs.

Greece PM attends the presentation of a new e-portal for persons with disabilities

During the presentation of the national portal for persons with disabilities and the Centers for Certification of Disabilities (KEPA), Prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis while referring to the evaluation system that involves periodic examinations of persons with disabilities, said ‘Why must someone go through repeated examinations for a problem that will accompany them the rest of their lives? Why could we not call on digital technology to simplify the lives of fellow citizens we should care for more than others and prioritize serving them? How is it possible to summon them to a service dedicated to people with disabilities and have these services be inaccessible’? . These e-services will solve the problem of physical access and exhausting in-person procedures.
The premier also assured persons with disabilities and their families that this would not be a temporary help, but a policy with guaranteed funding from several sources.
In his address regarding the digital services, Labor & Social Affairs Minister Kostis Chatzidakis said, ‘The multiple visits to KEPAs are abolished. Up to now, an individual had to show up three or four times at KEPAs to certify their disability. Today, only one visit is required, when they will be examined by a doctors’ committee. The rest will take place digitally’.

Judgments will be made available in a free text search portal with accessibility features: Justice Chandrachud

While speaking at the third Professor Shamnad Basheer Memorial Lecture organized by the LiveLaw, Justice DY Chandrachud, said that the Supreme Court will join the National Judicial Data Grid in the near future and all the decisions of the Supreme Court will be made available in a free text search portal. Those judgments will have accessibility features built into them for the easy access of persons with disabilities.

Delivering the lecture on the topic Making Disability Rights Real: Addressing accessibility and more, Justice Chandrachud said that the e-Committee of the Supreme Court has been making efforts to make the digital infrastructure of the judicial system more accessible to persons with disabilities.

‘We have introduced audio-captchas on the Supreme Court as well as High Court websites to ensure that visually impaired professionals face no hindrances in looking up the cause list or the case status. We have also ensured that case files are readable and screen-reader-friendly to make them accessible to persons with disabilities. The e-committee in collaboration with National Informatics Centre (NIC) has also created a judgment search portal accessible to persons with disability. Over seventy-five lakh judgments of the High Courts will be freely available for access. The visually challenged will not have to confront the unwillingness of private software developers to accommodate their needs”, Justice Chandrachud said.

Freedom of speech is Non-negotiable, uncompromising says Vice President

During the inauguration of the third edition of Lokmanthan, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said,’ the freedom of expression in India is non-negotiable, and we cannot compromise on it. If we depart from this, we will compromise with the sovereignty and wholesomeness of the country’. He expressed regret that, matters are being discussed on the streets instead of on the floor of the assembly.
While addressing the media, he said, ‘another concerning trend that needs to curtailed is the problem of pseudo-intellectuals. Can public space be allowed to be dominated by this category of people with the help of media-created eclipses?’

84 IT Projects to Support Persons with Disabilities deployed across the country by NCC

Between 2012 and 2020, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) deployed 84 assistive Information Technology projects across the country. The E-Accessibility project seeks to meet the ICT needs of persons with disabilities in Nigeria by providing ICT tools, assistive technologies, training, and Internet provision in the identified locations. This was disclosed by the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, during a courtesy visit to their offices, by a delegation from National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD).
In his remarks, the NCPWD’s Executive Secretary, James Lalu, said the purpose of the agency’s visit was to keep the NCC management abreast of its mandates and activities and to seek greater collaborations for the benefits of the estimated 35.5 million persons with disabilities in Nigeria. ‘What we want to achieve is to make Nigeria a country that is comfortable for PLWD by ending discrimination and providing an adequate reporting system, and we have seen NCC as a strategic and important partner in this journey’, he said.

Americas: Strengthening freedom of expression and safety of journalists

To strengthen the participation of different stakeholders from the Americas in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and freedom of expression, the safety of journalists, and access to information, UNESCO and Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (RELE, in Spanish) have started a 6-month partnership. 

In his address, Pedro Vaca Villarreal, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said, ‘The efforts for the promotion and protection of freedom of expression at the regional and the universal levels should be fully harmonized. This partnership between RELE and UNESCO aims at building that bridge and ensuring that human rights mechanisms are successfully coordinated in the field’. On her part, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information, Tawfik Jelassi said ‘In a context of growing attacks against journalists and freedom of expression globally, improving the engagement with regional human rights mechanisms is a way of ensuring that all regions work towards an environment conducive to the full respect of freedom of expression with one voice’, 

Digital topics in Samarkand Declaration

Digital topics feature in 16 out of 120 points in the Samarkand Declaration, adopted on 16th September 2022 at the Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. The main focus is on the security, economic, and governance aspects of digitalisation.

You can consult annotated analysis for the Samarkand Declaration.

Samarkand Declaration is dominated by the security issues. Heads of states invited for the cooperation in international information security, and reiterated the central role of the UN in countering threats in the information space, creating a safe, fair and open information space, with respect of principles of state sovereignty and non-interference. Member states were “categorically against the militarization of the ICT sphere”, in support of development of universal rules, principles and norms of responsible behavior of states (discussed by the UN Open-ended Working Group, although no direct reference to the group was made). In terms of internet governance, Declaration emphasised “equal rights of all countries to regulate the Internet and the sovereign right of States to manage it in their national segment”.

Declaration also invited for a comprehensive international convention on combating the use of ICTs for criminal purposes under the auspices of the UN (currently discussed by the UN Ad-hoc Committee on cybercrime, although no direct reference to it was made). In practical terms, states called for enhanced law enforcement cooperation aimed at protecting human rights and countering contemporary challenges including the criminal use of ICTs, as well as practical cooperation on law and justice and forensic science.

Threat posed by terrorism, separatism and extremism in all forms, including the spread of such messages and the recruitment of youth, were particularly emphasised. SCO heads invited for the adoption of a Comprehensive Convention on Combating International Terrorism, with the key role played by the UN.

Samarkand Declaration also focused on international trade. It called for promotion of an open global economy, opposing protectionist measures and trade restrictions, and strengthening the effectiveness of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Of particular relevance for SCO states is strengthening cooperation on e-commerce, to increase employment.

Digitalisation, infrastructure development and technology innovations were also addressed. Declaration suggested that the creative economy could become one of the components of developing the SCO’s innovative potential. Some of the practical measures included strengthening the scientific and technological cooperation and potential of technoparks, developing the innovation ecosystem, conducting joint research, and implementing projects in field of digital, innovative and energy-saving technologies, agriculture, finances and health including telemedicine. To support this, competitive technological infrastructure is required, and cooperation in the field of digital learning in view of the trends of the world economy in the era of digital globalization.

Teenage girl jailed in Bangladesh over Facebook post released

In October 2020, in Dinajpur, Bangladesh, Dipti Rani Das, a Hindu minority teenager girl, was arrested under Bangladesh’s Digital Security Act, 2018 over a Facebook post that contained a photograph of a woman keeping the Islamic holy book Quran in between her thighs.

In a publication by Amnesty International, Dipti Rani Das, was granted bail on 17th February 2022 and released from detention on 15th March 2022. In its annual country report of 2021, it documented severe human rights violations committed by Bangladeshi security agencies and called on Bangladesh’s government to urgently repeal or substantially amend the 2018 Digital Security Act and end the crackdown on people’s right to freedom of expression online.

Nepal; Online video license a threat to freedom of expression

Earlier this year, Nepal’s government passed amendments to the National Broadcasting Regulation to regulate online videos. The change was brought about after a rise in complaints filed over sensationalist YouTube videos deemed to be tarnishing the image of public figures and officials.

In these new amendments, any person wanting to post a video online must first purchase a license for 500,000 rupees, an equivalent of $3,900. These efforts by the government to regulate the digital sphere are raising flags with media and legal analysts.

If the minimum monthly wage for a journalist in Nepal, which has set limits for professions, is 25,000 rupees equivalent to $313, then, the new ruling will make communicating online — both for journalists and online users — prohibitively expensive, said the media watchdog Reporters Without Borders.

While speaking to VOA, Binod Dhungel, an independent journalist and correspondent for RSF in Nepal, said, ‘If implemented strictly, it will have a severe impact on freedom of expression, freelancers and [the] public’.

NCPWD partners with NCC for digital interventions on smooth communication for Persons with disabilities

The management team of the National Commission for Persons With Disabilities (NCPWD), led by the Executive Secretary, Mr. James David Lalu, made a courtesy call to the National Communication Commission (NCC) and met with the leadership. In his address, Mr. Lalu stated the urgent need to incorporate the communication needs of PWDs across the country.

In campaigning for inclusivity for Persons with disabilities, Mr. Lalu suggested using Video- Relay Service (VRS). ‘This will be of tremendous benefit to persons with hearing issues if introduced. This service, though, requires a considerable portion of data for it to be quite effective but, he said, ‘will also help solve the challenges of 3rd party interference on privacy rights of the Deaf persons. Sometimes the call center or customer care tries to reach a deaf but, but he can only see the call without being able to respond to the conversation from the caller’ he pointed out.