---- Original Message ------
From: LightHouse for the Blind <[email protected]
Subject: Redbox Discriminates Against the Blind by Failing to
ProvideAccessible Self-Service Kiosks
Date sent: Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:37:59 -0500 (EST)
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REDBOX DISCRIMINATES AGAINST THE BLIND BY FAILING TO PROVIDE
ACCESSIBLE SELF-SERVICE
KIOSKS
Oakland, CA - January 12, 2012 - Recent technological advances
are sweeping the
nation, changing the way people buy products and services.
Self-service kiosks with
automated, touch-screen interfaces now allow people to bank,
shop, and conduct a
wide range of transactions independently, without the assistance
of a clerk. This
technology is fast becoming an integral part of our every day
lives.
Although these technologies can make our lives easier, Redbox, a
video rental giant,
has chosen to use self-service kiosks with touch-screen controls
that exclude the
blind from using its services. Blind Californians cannot use
touch-screen kiosks
that offer only visually-based controls. A class action lawsuit
filed today in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of
California challenges
Redbox's inaccessible kiosks. The lawsuit is the first of its
kind in the country.
The suit is brought by the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired [http://www.lighthouse-sf.org],
as well as five blind individuals, on behalf of blind and
visually impaired people
throughout California. Plaintiffs are represented by Disability
Rights Advocates
[http://www.dralegal.org] ("DRA"), a non-profit disability rights
legal center headquartered
in Berkeley, California that specializes in high-impact cases on
behalf of people
with disabilities. Plaintiffs are also represented by the Law
Offices of Jay Koslofsky;
Mr. Koslofsky is an experienced civil rights attorney.
Redbox has a major share of the video rental market. Redbox DVD
rentals account
for approximately 34% of the DVD rental market nationwide.
According to Redbox,
almost 60 million videos are rented from its kiosks nationally
each month. Redbox
kiosks can be found at thousands of businesses throughout
California including Save
Mart, which is a business that is also named as a defendant in
the lawsuit.
For generations, blind and visually impaired people have watched
and enjoyed movies
as an ordinary part of daily life. Blind people with some
remaining vision may watch
films on their own or with sighted friends and family who can
describe the details
and actions of a film. In addition, many blind people enjoy
watching dialogue driven
films.
Plaintiff Lisamaria Martinez is a legally blind resident of Union
City, California.
"I love watching movies with my husband and son and would like to
independently
rent movies for my family at Redboxes," said Lisamaria Martinez.
Plaintiff Joshua Saunders is a legally blind resident of El
Cerrito, California
who enjoys watching movies with friends and family. "I'm not
asking for the world
here but simply for the ability to rent DVDs from Redboxes just
like everyone else
can," said Joshua Saunders.
Redbox's inaccessible touch-screen kiosks shut out a large and
growing community
of blind Californians. It is estimated that 100,000
Californians are legally blind
and as the population continues to age, the number of adults with
vision loss will
increase.
The technology exists to make self-service kiosks accessible to
the blind. Accessible
ATMs and iPhones make use of tactile controls and/or screen
reading software that
enables blind people to use these devices.
"A lack of accessibility in newly emerging forms of commerce is a
symptom of the
overall growing technological divide that blind people
experience when companies
fail to build in accessible features at the onset," said Bryan
Bashin, Executive
Director/CEO of the Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired.
"Technology is a double edged sword. It has the power to enable
millions, but it
can disable many Americans far more than it enables them if
accessibility is not
built into technology at the beginning," said Jay Koslofsky,
Plaintiffs' attorney
of the Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky.
"Redbox is shutting out thousands of Californians from its
services because it refuses
to make its technology accessible to blind consumers," said
Michael Nunez, Plaintiffs'
attorney of Disability Rights Advocates.
About Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired
The Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, a non-profit
corporation, is
one of California's oldest organizations serving the blind and
visually impaired
community. The Lighthouse is dedicated to aiding blind and
visually impaired individuals
in leading productive, enriching, and independent lives.
About Disability Rights Advocates (DRA)
Disability Rights Advocates is a non-profit legal center which,
for nearly twenty
years, has specialized in high-impact class action litigation on
behalf of people
with all types of disabilities. DRA litigates nationally and has
offices in New
York City and Berkeley, California.
About Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky
Jay Koslofsky is an attorney in private practice with more than
30 years of experience.
He specializes in civil rights cases and class action litigation.
www.lighthouse-sf.org
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Contacts
Bryan Bashin, CEO, Lighthouse for the Blind
(415) 694-7346
Lisamaria Martinez, plaintiff
(510) 289-2577
Michael Nunez of Disability Rights Advocates
(510) 665-8644
Jay Koslofsky of Law Offices of Jay Koslofsky
(510) 280-5627
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LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired | 214 Van Ness
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_______________________________________________
ATI (Adaptive Technology Inc.)
A special interest affiliate of the Missouri Council of the Blind
http://moblind.org/membership/affiliates/adaptive_technology
