Bell faces human rights complaint over allegations of inaccessibility for blind customers – National

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Bell Communications Inc. is facing a human rights complaint over allegations that it fails to provide full service to its blind customers.

The company’s set-top boxes don’t include screen-reading technology that allows blind people to navigate menus, use apps or discern which channel they’re on, says Toronto attorney David Lepofsky in his submissions to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

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In the initial submission filed in mid-2021, Lepofsky, who is blind, said he was unable to access TV services he paid for on his TV without the help of someone. clairvoyant.

“It’s a giant company with billions of dollars,” Lepofsky said in an interview. “It’s not like it’s a small, small business. The accommodation I am looking for is the one that all their competitors offer. This is an accommodation that US law has required since 2016.”

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In its responses to the commission, Bell acknowledged that its set-top boxes did not have screen readers, but argued in its response to Lepofsky’s complaint that it complied with CRTC regulations — many of which relate to the provision of described video, an audio track that plays over television and film and tells the visual aspects of the story.

The commission has not yet decided how it will proceed with Lepofsky’s complaint.

The lawyer has a long and storied history of advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1995.

He then fought a years-long legal battle that led to the Toronto Transit Commission being required to announce subway, streetcar, and bus stops rather than just displaying them visually.

With this complaint against Bell, Lepofsky seeks to enshrine in law a requirement for television service providers to offer screen reading technology to their blind customers.

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“They can’t claim they have a right to refuse to provide it under the Human Rights Code because they have a duty to accommodate my blindness,” Lepofsky said.

Screen readers use text-to-speech technology to read aloud the content of a computer, telephone, or television screen, whether that content was extracted by the system or typed in by the user. They come pre-installed in some technologies, but not in Bell PVRs, which are required to access all of the features provided with Bell Fibe TV and Satellite services.

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Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. have stated that their set-top boxes are compatible with screen readers.

The lack of screen readers on Bell’s set-top boxes means services Bell provides blind customers, such as described video, aren’t accessible to the very people they’re supposed to help, Lepofsky said. He cannot navigate the menu to access this feature without the help of a sighted person.

His complaint argues that this disadvantages Lepofsky and other blind people.

“Television and cinema are an essential source of information and entertainment. They are also cultural touchpoints that are important for engaging and participating in the community,” it reads.

In describing its efforts to make its products more accessible to blind customers, Bell also said it was making its mobile apps more friendly to screen readers.

Lepofsky said he had received no concrete commitment from Bell until he filed the complaint with the CHRC.

In its response to the commission, the company set out a timeline for implementing the accessibility improvements.

It has already met some of those deadlines by starting to integrate screen reader compatibility into its apps and websites, including Crave, the Bell-owned streaming service.

The company also set a deadline to make the Crave screen reader compatible on “connected TV devices” by the first quarter of 2023.

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“We were working on a number of accessibility improvements before Mr. Lepofsky filed his complaint, and we continue to work to provide a better experience for customers with disabilities, regardless of the outcome of this case,” said said a Bell spokeswoman in an emailed statement. .

She did not specify which improvements were already on the agenda.

A spokeswoman for the Canadian Human Rights Commission said she was legally prohibited from discussing whether she had received a complaint or discussing the details of a complaint.

But if the commission decides to pursue the complaint, it could refer the matter to mediation or conciliation, refer it directly to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, or investigate the complaint further.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission said it is currently handling a high volume of discrimination complaints, with limited resources, so timelines are fluid.

© 2022 The Canadian Press

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