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"508" and other laws

  • "508" is "Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973"
    • US law affecting Federal Govt. procurement
    • "508" addendum took effect June 2001, still being interpreted
    • examples:
      1194.21(c) A well-defined on-screen indication of the current focus shall be provided that moves among interactive interface elements as the input focus changes. The focus shall be programmatically exposed so that assistive technology can track focus and focus changes.

      1194.31(a) At least one mode of operation and information retrieval that does not require user vision shall be provided, or support for assistive technology used by people who are blind or visually impaired shall be provided.
    • requires "most accessible" purchase
  • being adopted wholesale by many US states
  • many other European and Asian nations have existing legislation and/or are considering similar legislation
  • free software is not exempt
  • aside: suit has been brought under separate legislation already
  • GNOME must address this need to avoid being locked out