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RE: The Commercialization of Web Accessibility

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From: Cohen, Lisa A.
Date: Dec 19, 2001 9:50AM



Just wanted to pass along some thoughts on the effects of Section 508 on the
marketplace... I attended a conference on "legal and procurement issues of
Section 508". One of the effects of this rule for federal government
procurement is that the government is now required to purchase the most
compliant Electronic and Information Technology product, regardless of
greater cost. This should have a huge effect on the marketplace.

In Michael's example (below, Con #2) of Sony being a Japanese company not
required to make products accessible, I believe it is actually the case that
the law does not target American companies, but instead regulates American
government purchases. Therefore, in order to compete in the huge U.S.
federal marketplace, Sony, or any other company, will also be required to
make their products accessible (or rather, 508 compliant).

Some changes in procurement law a few years back actually encouraged the
federal government to go out and buy less expensive COTS tools (when
available) because of the competitive pricing which saved U.S. taxpayer
dollars. The Section 508 rule actually places the higher priority on 508
compliance rather than on cost, which when you think about it, should create
enormous opportunity for profitable 508 related businesses to gain market
share. Unfortunately, this may unintentionally increase the likelihood of
higher prices (Michael's Con #1).

Lisa Cohen



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