Advocates for Disabled Urge ITC to Reject Import Ban Sonos Seeks on Google Smart Speakers
The exclusion order Sonos seeks on Google smart speakers would disproportionately harm disabled Americans who rely on them for normal household chores and to make voice calls independent of caregivers, warned advocates for the disabled in urging the International Trade Commission to reject the proposed import ban. Google’s “misappropriation” of five Sonos patents on multiroom audio technology has “proliferated” in the five years since Google’s introduction of Chromecast Audio, alleged Sonos in simultaneous complaints filed at the ITC (see 2001130019) and in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Google denies the allegations.
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Google smart speakers are used “by those with mobility and dexterity impairments for far more than listening to music,” commented the United Spinal Association. “People with paralysis have become dependent on these devices.” Common tasks “easily performed by those without disabilities can be performed without assistance by people with disabilities,” it said.
Smart speakers, for the blind and visually impaired, “provide a significant opportunity for improving the accessibility of the home and even office environments,” commented the American Foundation for the Blind. Smart speakers “may provide important content, such as on-demand weather reports, news, music, and podcasts, to individuals who do not use computers or smartphones,” it said. “This benefit may be especially important to people who are still acquiring assistive technology skills.” Voice-activated smart speakers “may be of particular importance to the disabled community,” warned the Center for Democracy & Technology. The ITC should consider “the possibility that an exclusion order could affect people with disabilities disproportionately,” it said.