Academics Concerned Over Accessibility in Broadband, Media, Websites

Academics raised concerns Friday about who makes decisions about the accessibility for the disabled of broadband, media and websites. During a Silicon Flatirons symposium at the University of Colorado Boulder, Blake Reid, a University of Colorado Law School professor, said that while the idea of designing technology to work well for everyone by having accessibility features is good in theory, in practice it can prompt “universal designs” that don't benefit the disabled community. A disconnect exists between those making the product and users, he said. “The technologists in the room need to be the people that are using the technology,” said Reid. “We need better technologists. And we need technologists that have alignment with communities.” Said Meg Leta Jones, a Georgetown University professor, “Giving people seats at the accessibility table that aren't disabled is such an important point about why exclusions matter to power shifts in decision-making structures”: “Sometimes for people to matter, you have to exclude other people.”