DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Two groups representing the interests of the blind sued Arizona
State University to stop it from using Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN)
Kindle DX electronic reading device as a means of distributing
electronic textbooks to its students.
While the Kindle DX has text-to-speech technology that can read
textbooks aloud, the National Federation of the Blind and American
Council of the Blind said blind students cannot use the device's
menus to purchase books from Amazon.com's Kindle store, select a
book to read, activate the text-to-speech feature or use the
advanced reading functions.
Darrell Shandrow, a blind ASU student, is also a plaintiff in
the suit.
In addition, the groups have filed complaints with federal
agencies against five other institutions using the Kindle DX in a
pilot project to assess the role of electronic textbooks and
reading devices in the classroom.
Those schools are Case Western Reserve University, the Darden
School of Business at the University of Virginia, Pace University,
Princeton University and Reed College.
The lawsuit and complaints accuse the schools of violating the
Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of
1973.
Organizations for the blind previously used litigation to win
concessions from other companies.
Last fall, the Massachusetts attorney general's office and the
National Federation of the Blind reached an agreement with Apple
Inc. (AAPL) under which the consumer-electronics giant agreed to
make its iTunes service accessible to the blind.
And a lawsuit against Target Corp. (TGT), charging its Web site
was inaccessible to blind shoppers, prodded the retailer into
making some improvements to its site.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com