United States (change)
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In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual's ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508, agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.
Section 508 sets standards and requirements for the following types of products: software applications, operating systems, web-based Intranet and Internet information and applications, telecommunications products, video and multimedia products, self contained, closed products, desktop and portable computers.
Federal Agencies are responsible for Section 508 compliance. Red Hat is assisting the government by providing information about 508 functionality and services through self-assessments. The results of these self-assessments including information relating to "Assistive Technology" are detailed in Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates ("VPAT").
A: Assistive technologies include screen readers that translate information to Braille, speech synthesizers, screen magnifiers, and range of motion applications.