SOPA and PIPA: What They May Mean for Accessibility

The big news of today is SOPA and PIPA, the two internet piracy bills that will greatly hinder the free web if they go through.  The following post will be a jumble of thoughts going amok in my head, but I would like to put a new spin on the whole debate.

PC World has done a good job of providing the bare bones of what each bill means: http://www.pcworld.com/article/248298/sopa_and_pipa_just_the_facts.html

Copyright is already an issue for screen readers.  Text to Speech has been limited because so many publishers and authors are worried about breach of copyright.  If screen readers are locked out of content, then their users can’t get the information they need.  They have to get special permission to use something that most people just simply access without giving it much thought.

I can’t imagine how overwhelming it must be to try to think of ways to control everything that goes on on the internet.  It is so big now, that catching every little infringement has to be nearly impossible.

As far as accessibility goes, if these bills were to go through, they would limit information access to everyone.  So, they don’t necessarily discriminate based on the user’s abilities.  The term accessibility takes a much broader scope here. If these bills patrol the internet like opponents are saying they will, then the web becomes inaccessible to everyone.

But, think of it this way.  Perhaps, by not having access to something we take for granted, like Wikipedia, will help everyone understand more clearly what it is like to never be able to access certain sites.  People with disabilities deal with a restricted web everyday.  Social Media sites that we use often like Facebook and Twitter both have major accessibility issues.  Imagine not being able to mindlessly check anything you want on Facebook like we all tend to do when we’re bored or distracting ourselves from work.

There are so many other examples I could use, but those are the major ones.  It is just like anything else we tend to take for granted.

I am all for a free web, and I hope there can be a balance struck that can monitor the ones who take advantage of content that is copyright.  I also hope that this whole deal can be used as a catalyst for providing an accessible web for both the disabled and non disabled.  My hope is for a free AND accessible web.