WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has struck deals with three universities not to promote Amazon’s Kindle or other electronic book readers if the devices are not fully accessible to blind students.
The legal settlements were made with Pace University in New York, Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and Reed College in Portland, Ore.
Two organizations representing the blind had sued after universities announced pilot projects to use the Kindle in classrooms.
Officials say the most current version of the Kindle has a text-to-speech function, but the device’s menu does not, so it is impossible for blind students to navigate through different electronic books or within an electronic book. The agreement takes effect as soon as the spring semester ends.