The Consumer and Government Affairs Bureau (CGB) of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has briefly extended the deadline for the submission of a report from a coalition of manufacturers of e-reader devices in connection with accessibility issues.
E-readers are mobile electronic devices that enable consumers to read digital e-books and magazines. As designed, e-reader devices access advanced communications services (ACS), which technically subjects them to accessibility requirements under FCC regulations. The CGB granted an indefinite extension of its waiver of its ACS accessibility requirements in 2016 for a defined class of basic e-readers, but required the Coalition of E-Reader Manufacturers to submit a report to the Bureau by February 1, 2019 on the extent to which ACS “has become a primary or co-primary purpose” of basic e-readers.
In an Order adopted on February 7, the CGB extended the deadline for the Coalition’s report until March 5, 2019, noting that, while such extensions “are not routinely granted,” doing so will provide the Coalition with time to complete a full report that will best enable the Bureau to make a determination regarding the current waiver of accessibility requirements for e-readers.
Read the complete text of the FDA’s Order extending the e-reader devices report deadline.