#GSA Integration

[yourreddancer]

Elon Musk staff has been caught plugging in hard drives inside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Treasury Department, and the General Services Administration (GSA).

Elon Musk staff has been caught plugging in hard drives inside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Treasury Department, and the General Services Administration (GSA). His staff encountered resistance when demanding that Treasury officials grant access to systems managing the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to programs like Social Security and Medicare. Tensions escalated when Musk’s aides were discovered at OPM accessing systems, including a vast database known as the Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI), which contains sensitive information such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers, performance appraisals, home addresses, pay grades, and length of service for government employees. In response to employees speaking out, Musk’s aides locked civil servants out of computer systems and offices, with reports of personal items being searched.

[viridianriver]

WHAT IS ELON MUSK DOING IN OUR GOVERNMENT?

Ok, so I think we all know the ‘government efficiency’ line is bullshit, right? I’m trying to dig into what he’s really doing, by focusing on the agencies that DOGE initially targeted. And I’m noticing a trend, he’s going after agencies which support something called ‘Continuity of Government” or in other words; our ability to maintain democratic governance after a catastrophe or attack. (see: FEMA - 302-094-1, or PPD-40)

Here are the first few agencies i read about Elon targeting:

Office of Personnel Management (OPM): This is like the government’s HR, responsible for hiring and staffing. This was Elon’s initial target. It has an important role in the case of a ‘continuity event’ - aka a disaster or attack that risks the US’s ability to have enduring democracy. It is responsible for making sure that our form of governance lives on, when it is under attack.

Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISA) : This is the government’s cybersecurity team, managing national cybersecurity, infrastructure security, and emergency communications. It was another early (and underreported) target of Elon’s.

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) : This is the government’s disaster recovery team. It was created in 1979, to deal with the nuclear threat from Russia, and ensure constitutional governance could continue after a nuclear attack. In 2003, it was integrated into the DHS (Dept of Homeland Security), and while its national-security operations are kept tightly under wraps in comparison to it’s national-disaster response operations, it is responsible for both. This has been a major target of Elon’s.

NARA, the National Archives and Records Administration, is also responsible for responding if a national disaster or attack were to occur. They are responsible for maintaining paper copies of government documents, and records essential for enduring constitutional government. This documentation would help rebuild our government, after disaster. (Funny coincidence, Elon apparently HATES paper records)

GSA, the General Services Administration, is responsible for acquiring office space and technology for the government. It also has an important role in disaster recovery; in fact, the OPM, FEMA, NARA, and GSA together make up an interagency cell responsible for reconstituting constitutional governance after an attack. Together, they coordinate staffing, office space, tech support, and disaster response coordination.

Overall, I believe his behavior is consistent with that of a threat actor which wishes to destroy the US’s ability to maintain enduring democracy. I believe he is deliberately weakening the country to enemy attack, especially in conjunction with the recent news that the US is stopping all cyber defensive operations against Russia.

I hope I’m wrong, but I’m expecting to see an attack on our country’s infrastructure, communications, and government, coordinated by a combination of domestic and foreign actors.

Because, hell, Elon sure seems to have opened the door wide open for an attack and laid out a metaphorical red carpet to invite it in.

Legal under the cut because I hear this bitch likes to sue people and use his wealth to drag people through the courts till they’re bankrupt and unemployable. Allegedly :)

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual. This text is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be referenced for legal, business, or investment purposes. This text is based on publicly available information. Sources may contain factual errors. The analysis provided in this text may contain factual errors, miscalculations, or misunderstandings.

[mariacallous]

Following a White House edict effectively banning federal employees from disclosing their personal pronouns in email signatures, sources within multiple federal agencies say pronouns are now being systemically blocked across multiple email clients and other software.

WIRED confirmed various automated efforts with employees at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the General Services Administration (GSA), the US Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The employees spoke to WIRED on condition of anonymity, citing fears of retaliation.

Multiple agency directors sent emails over the weekend telling staff that, due to President Donald Trump’s executive order, their offices would be removing the pronoun capability from Office 365. Employees were told they’d also need to remove pronouns from their email signatures in order to comply with the directive.

A staffer at USAID says the formal deactivation of their ability to list pronouns occurred last week, in response to executive orders defining sexes issued by President Trump on his first day in office. A GSA staffer says pronouns were wiped from employees’ email signatures after hours on Friday and were also no longer visible in Slack, the workplace messaging app. At the CDC, there used to be a section for employees to share their pronouns on their Teams profiles, another workplace app. That field no longer exists.

Reached for comment, the White House transferred WIRED to OPM communications director McLaurine Pinover, who pointed to January 29 memorandum ordering agencies to disable all features “that prompt users for their pronouns.”

The ban on personal pronouns follows sweeping efforts by the White House to eliminate programs that encourage diversity and social justice within the federal government, as well as other references to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in federal employees’ discourse.

In a striking example of the policy in action, an image surfaced last week of a wall being painted over at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Quantico, Virginia, academy due to it listing "diversity" among the bureau's core values. (According to an email from the FBI’s Office of Integrity and Compliance obtained by Mother Jones, the bureau no longer counts "diversity" among its core values.)

The Trump administration began a radical campaign last week aimed at inducing members of the federal workforce to leave their jobs ahead of threatened reductions. The effort is spearheaded by Elon Musk, leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force that has effectively seized control of several federal agencies and sensitive government systems with apparent clearance from the White House.

WIRED reported last week that Musk’s outfit had effectively taken over the Office of Personnel Management, the US government’s human resources department. In this and other efforts, it is employing inexperienced young engineers whose ages range from 19 to 24—many of whom, public records show, are former interns or have been affiliated with Musk-aligned companies.

OPM emailed federal workers on January 28 with a “deferred resignation offer,” sparking widespread confusion among federal workers. (DOGE’s own new HR chief was unable to answer basic questions about the offer in a contentious staff meeting last week, WIRED reported.) In an email to staff Sunday evening, OPM clarified whether the deferred resignation program complied with existing privacy laws. “Yes,” read the answer. “The deferred resignation program uses only basic contact information about federal employees, like name and government address, along with short, voluntary email responses. The information is stored on government systems. To the extent that the Privacy Act applies, all information relevant to the program is covered by existing OPM System Records Notices.”

Multiple agency sources told WIRED last week that several of Musk's lieutenants had been granted access to key computer systems controlled by the GSA, an independent agency tasked by Congress with overseeing federal buildings and providing equipment, supplies, and IT support across the government.

[affairsmastery]

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has embedded key figures from Silicon Valley into critical federal agencies. Here’s a list of operatives and their government involvement:

𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐚 – Department of Energy (DOE), General Services Administration (GSA), Executive Office of the President (EOP), Department of Labor (DOL)

𝐀𝐤𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐁𝐨𝐛𝐛𝐚 – Office of Personnel Management (OPM), General Services Administration (GSA), Social Security Administration (SSA)

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 – National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐧 – Department of Education (ED), Executive Office of the President (EOP)

𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 – Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

𝐀𝐦𝐲 𝐆𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 – Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Executive Office of the President (EOP)

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 – Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐨 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐬 – Social Security Administration (SSA)

𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐌𝐨𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢 – Department of the Treasury (Treasury), Department of Labor (DOL)

These Silicon Valley operatives, with backgrounds in Tesla, Palantir, and X, are deeply integrated into federal agencies, raising concerns over corporate influence in governance.

Source: Wired

[pintadorartist]

KEEP UP THE PRESSURE: CONTINUE TO FIGHT AGAINST THE TRUMP-MUSK COUP

I'll start with the Bad news since there's a lot of it here:

*Although all of the Democrats voted no, By a margin of 53-47, Russel Vought, one of the leading Architects behind Project 2025, has been confirmed

*Musk's Coup is still ongoing:

*Despite the mounting privacy lawsuits, His DOGE group has gotten access to the NOAA, Department of Labor, and Department of Education, EPA, and the Department of Health and Human Services

*USAID, the foreign aid agency of the US that provided life-saving funding for education, medicine, healthcare, and other foreign aid has been shuttered; it's been absorbed into the State Department with Marco Rubio acting as head of the agency with entire agency's numbers slashed from their original 10,000 to only 300 employees

*As of writing this post, Democrats from the House have been unable to communicate with the heads of the EPA and DOE(Department of Education)

*Even after asserting their credentials, Democrat legislators were denied access and even had federal authorities called on them

Ok, here's is some Good news to help ease you:

*19 Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump on Friday to stop Elon Musk’s "Agency" from accessing Treasury Department records that contained sensitive personal data such as Social Security and account numbers for millions of Americans.

*Thanks to everyone calling so much, the Democrats actually woke up and held up the Senate floor all night, buying time for lawsuits. This led to a judge issuing an order preventing Elon Musk and any additional DOGE-connected people from accessing sensitive Treasury data while the lawsuit proceeds to a two-week hearing.

*The judge’s order restricts two Musk-connected men already housed at Treasury to “read-only” access — meaning they are not permitted to modify or copy anything.

*In response to the gutting of USAID and the firing of its employees, a legal challenge filed on behalf of the employees, the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia will issue a temporary restraining order regarding various aspects of the Trump-Vance administration’s attempt to shutter the operations of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

*A California Student group is suing the Department of Education over reported DOGE access to financial aid databases

JUST TO REMIND YOU. YOU ARE NOT ALONE. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE FIGHTING TO STOP THIS COUP AND FIGHTING FOR YOUR RIGHTS. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1.Call your Senator/Rep Using 5calls: https://5calls.org/issue/elon-musk-opm-gsa-takeover/

Alongside using the script that 5calls provides, mention these actions. Despite Democrats being the minority, they still have tools and options to resist and oppose

If your senator/rep is a Republican, give them as much shit as possible, they are complicit and are willingly giving up Congress' power and responsibility.

2. Contact your State Attorney General by using 5 Calls: https://5calls.org/issue/musk-doge-data-lawsuit/

Here's an alternative script:

By using 5 calls, you probably already know who your State Attorney General is; another way to reach your AG is by searching their name, going to their website, and filing a Complaint form,

3. Contact the Secretary of the Treasury Department! – 202-622-2000

Minimal script for Secretary Scott Bessent: I’m calling to demand that you remove Musk’s access from all systems under your control, that all his equipment is confiscated, that his team is interrogated as to all actions they took under his direction, and that a computer forensics team is assigned immediately to check the system for integrity of its security systems.

After doing all of these, spread this around, not just on Tumblr, but all over the place. People need to know what's going on

and Remember, Do not obey in advance; yes, these are scary times; it's okay to feel afraid, but do not let it paralyze you; you are not alone.

More info on: https://indivisibleventura.org/2025/02/01/the-guy-nobody-trusts-with-a-full-security-clearance-now-has-access-to-all-your-private-data/

[ketrindoll]

"Elon Musk staff has been caught plugging in hard drives inside the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Treasury Department, and the General Services Administration (GSA). His staff encountered resistance when demanding that Treasury officials grant access to systems managing the flow of more than $6 trillion annually to programs like Social Security and Medicare. Tensions escalated when Musk’s aides were discovered at OPM accessing systems, including a vast database known as the Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI), which contains sensitive information such as dates of birth, Social Security numbers, performance appraisals, home addresses, pay grades, and length of service for government employees. In response to employees speaking out, Musk’s aides locked civil servants out of computer systems and offices, with reports of personal items being searched."

Elon is taking over every person's in America private data. Not an elected official, a nobody, really. And Americans are doing fuck all about it.

You naive bastards who claimed "the fight isn't over" - this would be the time to have that fight. Or by the time you lift your asses it's going to be beyond too late. The moment to act is yesterday.

Keep up being an activist on social media only and you'll get to watch your entire democracy crumble before March Madness. Oh, and everything about you falling into the hands of a nazi. Have fun.

[twig-tea]

TsukuTabe S2 Is Perfection

I’ve been waffling about what to write about Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna s2, which completed last week (and which we have access to at all thanks to the hard work of @furritsubs). I have had to just give up on getting across how much this show means to me; there's no way I'll be able to communicate these feelings with words. Season 1 was excellent but Season 2 was everything I wanted and more that I didn't know I needed. This is going to be more disjointed than usual because I don't know how to be coherent about this show (and because tumblr ate my first two attempts).

At its core, Tsukuritai Onna to Tabtetai Onna asks what if we were all just a little bit more conscientious and kind to one another? What if women were given space to be themselves and to make the choices that were best for them? This is the world of TsukuTabe, and I'm so grateful to have had the chance to inhabit it over these last four weeks. 

I have so much love for the way Nomoto and Kasuga develop their relationship in conjunction with their relationships with the other women in their lives. Nagumo, Sayama, and Yako are integral to the success of Nomoto and Kasuga’s relationship, and they're also important relationships for the happiness of Nomoto and Kasuga in their own right. The found family vibes are immaculate. 

The conflict between Kasuga and Nomoto this season was so perfectly them; the way they struggled with the transition from friends to lovers and being two people who are kind and giving in a relationship together and how that requires honesty and trust were both familiar conflicts that hit me hard in the feels. 

Kasuga's conflict with her family also hit me really hard. I once did the wrong thing and showed up to support my family in caring for someone who abused me, and it was a horrible experience that was ruinous to my mental health and took years to get over (and in the end they had to find a different solution anyway, which they could have done in the first place). Watching Kasuga refuse to make a similar decision, standing strong in the face of the social pressures of her parents and her aunt was so healing for me. And then to have her decision affirmed by someone of her parent's age? I sobbed in those scenes. 

I also loved the way this season handled Nagumo’s anxiety issues and how she was given space to decide to get professional help on her own time and terms. The way her parents tried to help was also very familiar to me and realistic, and it was just a little heartbreaking how they tried and didn't understand how their attempts at helping added pressure in a way that wasn't helpful. 

The way this show covers this important beats in a person's life through these small, everyday moments, and in such a gentle way, is what I love so much about it. The show itself makes a safe space so that these subjects can come up and not feel overwhelming. 

And it's also really important to me that all of the characters get to have these moments. Sakae not only reflects on her insensitivity and the unfairness of Japan not having marriage equality, but she also reflects on the pressures on her to marry and whether she actually wants that for herself. Fujita not only helps Kasuga gain proxy acceptance for her choices but gets the same back for herself around her decision to divorce. All of these women live in ways that invoke social stigma, and the way this show gives explicit permission to these women to live their best lives is both cathartic and critical.

I can't end this disjointed ramble without talking about the character I most identified with this season, Yako. Yako is an older, self-actualized asexual lesbian who makes friends with Nomoto on the Internet, recommends lesbian films to her, and mostly listens and affirms as Nomoto goes through her own process of discovering herself. I ran a GSA and have been on the Internet a long time, I've been in Yako’s position a lot (though I can only aspire to be as kind and wise). She is so patient and so genuinely happy for Nomoto when she and Kasuga get together, and she seems so quietly thrilled to have more wonderful people in her life willing to indulge her random party ideas. Her sharing a connection to a LGBTQ+-friendly real estate agency while being angry on their behalf that she even has to was perfection. 

It's so important that these characters say the things they say aloud. I want to inscribe every sentence of this show into everyone's brains. This show is perfect, and lovely, and a warm bath, and a hug, and a cup of your favourite warm beverage perfectly fixed to your liking all in one. If you haven't done yourself the favour of watching yet, I highly recommend that you do so immediately. 

[not an ID: Real footage of the entire audience's satisfaction and catharsis after watching TsukuTabe S2. Actual ID in alt text].

[mercyillustrator]

KIRBY OC TOURNAMENT FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH MY OC NEBULA @kirbyoctournament

Name: Lady Nebula (Sir)

Nebula story

Samurai-Knight

Her backstory She lives in a big town with her family and wanted to be a dancer for theater when she was little but as soon she got older when her town was attacked she had to give up her dream to protect everyone not just puffballs everyone in different species and form a group called fighting group where girls can fight too like GSA as well to get them and her accent is Italian-Korean/Japanese when she saw Nonsurat at the fighting group she saw her as a sister figure Husky male voice (disguise) and strong women voice (without disguise)

Got a scar from trying to protect her little sister Starla from NME during the event where NME takes female puffball but it doesn’t affect her to protect everyone just like how GSA knights protect.

after her first performance at theatre but unfortunately she’s dead happens around she got accept to be in theatre to be a dancer in her first performance.

Older sister figure to Nonsurat as she taking care of her, buying her food and protecting her also playing in the woods with her ^w^

Nebula personality is Protective, Strong, Fearless, Serious, Leadership, Integrity, Self Respect, overprotective older sister to Nonsurat and Honesty

Favorite food and drink: dumplings, Sushi, Freeze Dried Candy and Lemon Tea

Least favorite food and drink: Olives, Pickles and Diet Soda

Hobbies: Training, Practice to do CPR, Dancing and Supporting everyone on every ways

Age: Older then Nonsurat (not related to her)

Likes: Nonsurat, Keeping everyone safe, exercising, training, caring for others, dancing, reunion, working out and caring for others

Natural with GSA (not hate or against them)

Dislikes: NME, female puffballs getting corrupted and captured, seeing others getting hurt, feeling like a failure, meltdown, king dedede and escargoon, breaking her foot just like her kid age, not able to dance, and camera flashes her eyes too much

Vote for her and fun facts she will be a villain as corrupted female puffballs in my comic with her fighting group ( a group of undercovers female puffballs that were disguised themselves as male or smt)

- 💠🎨Mercy🎨💠

[whispersoffateleo]

Shui Long Yin VR Metaverse: Technologies and Digital Assets, and the melon about it being released in Summer 2025

What is the metaverse?

The Shui Long Yin metaverse is a parallel world closely resembling the real world, built through the use of digital modelling and technologies such as VR and AR, and designed to exist permanently.

This virtual realm integrates cutting-edge advancements, including blockchain, augmented reality, 5G, big data, artificial intelligence, and 3D engines.

When you acquire a ticket to this world, you gain a digital asset, allowing you to become an immersive citizen within the Shui Long Yin Metaverse.

Every item within Shui Long Yin can be experienced through Augmented Reality using VR devices, providing a seamless blend of the physical and digital realms. These digital assets are permanent, and in some cases, overseas users may trade or transfer their tickets to enter the Shui Long Yin world.

What is VR and AR?

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that enables users to interact within a computer-simulated environment.

Augmented Reality (AR), on the other hand, combines elements of VR by merging the real world with computer-generated simulations. A well-known example of AR is the popular game Pokémon Go, where virtual objects are integrated into real-world surroundings.

Tang LiCi's universe

The Shui Long Yin film crew has digitally modeled the core art assets, 50 000 square meters.

What technologies does China Mobile & Migu bring to the table?

China Mobile served as the lead organizer for the 2023 World VR Industry Conference. Its subsidiary, Migu, has also been dedicated to advancing projects in this area.

Shui Long Yin is their first priority this summer 2025.

5G+AI: VR world in Metaverse

AIGC AR 3D: Using AI technology in graphics computer, with the best trained AI system in China.

Video ringtones as a globally pioneering service introduced by China Mobile.

Shui Long Yin from Screen to Metaverse to Real Life: Epic Battles and Intricate Plotlines

The United States and China are world pioneers in the development of TV drama integration VR Metaverse. Notably, Shui Long Yin is the sixth TV drama map worldwide to be merged into the Metaverse.

How can we enjoy these technologies?

-- First we need 5G -- According to a report by the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), by June 2022:

》There are 70 countries around the world had active 5G networks, you can fully experience all the technology featured in Shui Long Yin.

Example: South Korea, China, and the United States have been at the forefront. Follow after are Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Viet Nam...

》No worries—even in countries without 5G, you can still watch the drama and enjoy AIGC and 3D technology through the streaming platforms Migu Video and Mango.

•Mango available on IOS and Android, Harmony OS

•Migu (Mobile HD) soon availabe on IOS and Android, Harmony OS

-- Second, we need VR devices --

In country where VR is already commonplace, such as the United States, owning a VR device is considered entirely normal. Users can select devices that best suit their preferred forms of home entertainment.

European countries have also become fairly familiar with VR technology.

However, it is still relatively new to many parts of Asia. When choosing a VR device, it’s important to select one that is most compatible with your intended activities, whether that’s gaming, watching movies, or working.

It's no surprise to us that the drama Shui Long Yin will be released in the summer 2025, but it will also be coinciding with offline tourism to Long Yin Town in Chengdu, online VR Metaverse travel, and 3D experiences on the new streaming platforms Migu and Mango. Stay tuned!

Tv drama: SHUI LONG YIN Shui Long Yin & Leo All music and image are copyrighted and belong to the respective owners, included the official film crew SHUILONGYIN.

[drdemonprince]

Something I think you're missing in how you talk about trans men: how recently you transitioned.

I came out circa 2007, and there was almost no information about us, no community where I lived (the local support group was all older trans women), no media outside of "Boys Don't Cry" and the way-better-but-still-basic "Parrotfish," no anything at all except TERF lesbian communities that coveted and hated us in equal measure, and general GSAs that were sweet, but dominated by cis people. I learned that the worst thing in the world I could be was a trans man - to be a trans man was to be a regressive agent of the patriarchy, and if I couldn't force myself to be nonbinary or a cis woman, I was evil.

In the early 2010s I attended a conference where a trans woman, a national celebrity I looked up to, made a joke about how useless trans men are during her keynote speech. I walked out of that room crying because as far as I knew, she was right - I was almost an elder by the standards of an atomized community where we were expected to die young, and even I couldn't name a single trans man in history who'd mattered.

We take it for granted now that trans men like Lou Sullivan made a difference, but to bring attention to him, folks like me had to swim upstream against a wave of accusations of misogyny from TERFs, and sometimes even from trans women. The acceptance you rejoice in at bathhouses? That was hard won through outreach by trans men. I even remember a specific trans male-run ambassador program in San Francisco circa 2013 dedicated to integrating trans men into the queer male community.

The world that's welcomed you was built by trans men who, like me, felt agonizingly alone and unwanted in both cis and trans communities. You paint a picture of lazy hangers-on who don't understand how good they have it, and maybe that's true for the folks you're looking at, but they don't reflect the hard work trans men have been putting in at every level of organizing for much longer than our efforts have been recognized. I've been involved in the fight for our liberation since I was a teenager, working on school and state-level policy change, medical access, the preservation of history, mentorship, dodging evictions, and all the little jobs my tired, autistic ass can take on, and I've never been rewarded for it outside the thanks of the people I've helped. All I ever wanted was to make things better for the generations that came after me.

I'd just like to have that reality acknowledged - that those of us who came before you built what you're now able to enjoy, and we can use that history to empower and encourage younger generations to continue doing the work instead of implying that no one's been doing it at all.

Thank you for this message. I would like to read a lot more about your perspective on this history. Please let me know your @ -- in private if you prefer. There are some elements of how this is framed here that do make me go, hm (the view was the worst thing you could be was a trans man?) but I am also appreciative of this this glimpse at what I don't know I don't know, and am interested to learn more about it.

But I also want to push back against the idea that I have no knowledge of how things were during the times you're talking about -- I was a queer, gender-questioning adult at that time too, and I was active in many trans spaces.

My medical transition is very recent in the grand scheme of things but I've been rolling deep with trans guys and going to trans masc events since 2003-2004 (in Cleveland and Columbus). I remember how the not-full-blown TERFY yet still very toxic radfems spoke about men, sexually preyed upon trans guys in some cases, and sometimes said things critical of transition. I knew several trans guys who had quite a guilt complex about becoming a "man" because they had internalized that men were inherently predatory and evil. Personally, I'd always thought that line of thinking was absurd and a very poor excuse for feminism, so it didn't get under my skin in the same way. Instead of making me not want to be a man, it made me not want to be a feminist. Which is pretty typical sexist bro shit to do really. Again, no big evidence of transmisandry here. certainly experiences that were emotionally very fraught and challenging for people, but not misandry or transmisandry.

These queer and feminist groups that I moved within were VASTLY more exclusionary to the trans femmes in the city, who were not even permitted to attend events for sexual assault survivors in the Columbus scene. I DID see trans women on the social periphery of these groups be discouraged from transitioning, and I did hear just about every vile transmisogynistic slur and exclusionary idea you can think of be passed around by many without challenge.

The transmisogyny stood out to me even back then as particularly egregious and rampant -- it disgusted me and caused me to distance myself from those groups of people in 2007-8. It was the outspoken hatred of anyone with an "amab" body and frothing transmisogyny that made me not want to be associated with that crowd or to contemplate transition, honestly -- not any kind of widespread anti-transmasc sentiment. These groups held top surgery fundraisers and hormone start date celebrates for trans guys and expressed desire for trans men openly and included them warmly in just about everything while treating trans women like predators and telling them they should just be feminine men (far, far away from them).

So my experience just does not track with what you are saying. I imagine we have two very different vantage points on similar periods of time, and I think there certainly is a lot more about trans masc history I could stand to learn and so many trans masc elders' whose names I should be putting more respect on. And I'd be very open to hearing more about that from you. But I do have to push back against the characterization of the era as someone who very much was there.

[newstoday365]

Right now, you should be concerned about Elon Musk's business.

Elon Musk is already into the next stage of his scheme to integrate his businesses with the federal government. This includes, rather surprisingly, the future of your internet connection in addition to President Donald Trump's photo op in front of the White House with a Tesla.

More precisely, by supporting Starlink, the satellite-based internet provider run by SpaceX, the company he founded, serves as CEO of, and owns a significant stake in, Musk is taking actions that have the potential to transform how millions of Americans use the internet.

Unlike wired broadband internet, which usually uses fiber-optic cable, Starlink and other space-based internet initiatives beam internet service from satellites in orbit down to the Earth's surface. The main benefit of satellite internet is that, with very few exceptions, it can be used practically anywhere in the world. Due to its shortcomings, which include patchy reliability, high latency, and poor speeds, fiber internet is currently preferable for the great majority of people.

The Commerce Department announced last week that it will be revising the terms of a $42 billion high-speed internet program to favor Starlink. In the meantime, satellite rivals requested the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to control Musk's business, claiming it is "anticompetitive," thus the FCC granted Starlink a waiver that will strengthen its new service, which allows phones to connect to satellites.

Additionally, it has been stated that Musk affiliates have directed federal departments to begin using Starlink, and the GSA is already doing so, ostensibly without supervision. Amid rumors that the Federal Read More......

[mariacallous]

On Thursday, Stephen Ehikian, the acting administrator of the General Services Administration, hosted his first all-hands meeting with GSA staff since his appointment to the position by President Donald Trump. The auditorium was packed, with hundreds of employees attending the meeting in person and thousands more tuning in online. While the tone of the live event remained polite, the chat that accompanied the live stream was a different story.

“‘My door is always open’ but we’ve been told we can’t go to the floor you work on?” wrote one employee, according to Google Meet chat logs for the event obtained by WIRED. Employees used their real names to ask questions, but WIRED has chosen not to include those names to protect the privacy of the staffers. “We don’t want an AI demo, we want answers to what is going on with [reductions in force],” wrote another, as over 100 GSA staffers added a “thumbs up” emoji to the post.

But an AI demo is what they got. During the meeting, Ehikian and other high-ranking members of the GSA team showed off GSAi, a chatbot tool built by employees at the Technology Transformation Services. In its current form, the bot is meant to help employees with mundane tasks like writing emails. But Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been pushing for a more complex version that could eventually tap into government databases. Roughly 1,500 people have access to GSAi today, and by tomorrow, the bot will be deployed to more than 13,000 GSA employees, WIRED has learned.

Musk associates—including Ehikian and Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer who now runs the Technology Transformation Services within GSA—have put AI at the heart of their agenda. Yesterday, GSA hosted a media roundtable to show its AI tool to reporters. “All information shared during this event is on deep background—attributable to a ‘GSA official familiar with the development of the AI tool,’” an invite read. (Reporters from Bloomberg, The Atlantic, and Fox were invited. WIRED was not.)

GSA was one of the first federal agencies Musk’s allies took over in late January, WIRED reported. Ehikian, who is married to a former employee of Elon Musk’s X, works alongside Shedd and Nicole Hollander, who slept in Twitter HQ as an unofficial member of Musk’s transition team at the company. Hollander is married to Steve Davis, who has taken a leading role at DOGE. More than 1,835 GSA employees have taken a deferred resignation offer since the leadership change, as DOGE continues its push to reportedly “right-size” the federal workforce. Employees who remain have been told to return to the office five days a week. Their credit cards—used for everything from paying for software tools to buying equipment for work—have a spending limit of $1.

Employees at the all-hands meeting—anxious to hear about whether more people will lose their jobs and why they’ve lost access to critical software tools—were not pleased. "We are very busy after losing people and this is not [an] efficient use of time,” one employee wrote. “Literally who cares about this,” wrote another.

“When there are great tools out there, GSA’s job is to procure them, not make mediocre replacements,” a colleague added.

“Did you use this AI to organize the [reduction in force]?” asked another federal worker.

“When will the Adobe Pro be given back to us?” said another. “This is a critical program that we use daily. Please give this back or at least a date it will be back.”

Employees also pushed back against the return-to-office mandate. “How does [return to office] increase collaboration when none of our clients, contractors, or people on our [integrated product teams] are going to be in the same office?” a GSA worker asked. “We’ll still be conducting all work over email or Google meetings.”

One employee asked Ehikian who the DOGE team at GSA actually is. “There is no DOGE team at GSA,” Ehikian responded, according to two employees with direct knowledge of the events. Employees, many of whom have seen DOGE staff at GSA, didn’t buy it. “Like we didn’t notice a bunch of young kids working behind a secure area on the 6th floor,” one employee told WIRED. Luke Farritor, a young former SpaceX intern who has worked at DOGE since the organization’s earliest days, was seen wearing sunglasses inside the GSA office in recent weeks, as was Ethan Shaotran, another young DOGE worker who recently served as president of the Harvard mountaineering club. A GSA employee described Shaotran as “grinning in a blazer and T-shirt.”

GSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by WIRED.

During the meeting, Ehikian showed off a slide detailing GSA’s goals—right-sizing, streamline operations, deregulation, and IT innovation—alongside current cost-savings. “Overall costs avoided” were listed at $1.84 billion. The number of employees using generative AI tools built by GSA was listed at 1,383. The number of hours saved from automations was said to be 178,352. Ehikian also pointed out that the agency has canceled or reduced 35,354 credit cards used by government workers and terminated 683 leases. (WIRED cannot confirm any of these statistics. DOGE has been known to share misleading and inaccurate statistics regarding its cost saving efforts.)

“Any efficiency calculation needs a denominator,” a GSA employee wrote in the chat. “Cuts can reduce expenses, but they can also reduce the value delivered to the American public. How is that captured in the scorecard?”

In a slide titled “The Road Ahead,” Ehikian laid out his vision for the future. “Optmize federal real estate portfolio,” read one pillar. “Centralize procurement,” read another. Sub categories included “reduce compliance burden to increase competition,” “centralize our data to be accessible across teams,” and “Optimize GSA’s cloud and software spending.”

Online, employees seemed leery. “So, is Stephen going to restrict himself from working on any federal contracts after his term as GSA administrator, especially with regard to AI and IT software?” asked one employee in the chat. There was no answer.

[gsasustainability]

Project Title: The North Within The North

Project Location:  Luleå, Northern Sweden

Beatrice Rogojan, MSA stage 5 Sustainability Prize: Commended 2024

 This Design Thesis explores the viability of implementing an adaptive-reuse strategy to address the unsustainable consequences of Luleå’s densely commercialized urban core, especially in its Arctic setting. The objective is to transition its consumer-driven urban activity into a community-centered one by repurposing one of its most valuable yet declining assets: the first indoor shopping mall in the world, ‘Shopping’, designed by Ralph Erskine.

While researching the history and failures of Luleå’s urban core parallel to the Shopping’’ decline, this project developed into an antithesis to consumerist-focused practices, which alienated the sense of local community and culture in Luleå. Furthermore, this thesis looks at enabling an anti-consumerist approach on all design levels, thus repurposing an existing valuable asset, yet a declining shopping mall emphasises on adopting sustainable design practices by prioritising mindful resourcefulness and advocating for fewer new constructions in the built environment.

Hence, this project serves as a provocative call to action, urging the construction industry professionals to build less and use existing resources more across all facets of design while actively involving themselves with local communities and contextual social and cultural nuances for a deeper understanding of the local needs.

Developing an adaptive-reuse strategy for Ralph Erskine’s building is the most successful facet of this thesis. It focuses on revitalising the building’s lost architectural character while integrating a new layer of contemporary architecture that brings value to its existing fabric and aims to benefit future generations.  This thesis, more or less like forensic architecture, investigates the historical architectural layers of the building and embraces its architectural qualities, however it rejects the inappropriate renovations done over the years in Erskine’s Shopping. The proposed design strategy retains original elements while the new additions aim to accentuate them even more.

The most resolved aspect of this thesis is the reconstructions proposed in line with Erskine’s vision and bioclimatic design strategy, aiming to bring back the lost heritage through innovative construction methods and materials with three different types of 3D printing processes. The emphasis on considering life cycle assessment throughout the design process is evident through the material choices, fostering an anti-consumerist mindset that values reusability, recycling, and efficiency.

Furthermore, the new layout of the floorplans successfully brings back Erskine’s utopic idea of a city within a city, where a generous area is dedicated to “informal spaces” where the local community can genuinely use the building as an indoor public square or indoor street for conversation and interaction, which is a crucial design need in a harsh climate such as Luleå’s.

In conclusion, this project serves as a provocative call to action, urging the construction industry professionals to build less and use existing resources more across all facets of design while actively involving themselves with local communities and contextual social and cultural nuances for a deeper understanding of the local needs

GSA Showcase

LinkedIn

[xneontragedyx]

Skip to main content

Skip to Table of Contents

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Notice

The Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) rulemaking has concluded. The PROWAG final rule has been published in the Federal Register. Please visit the Access Board’s PROWAG page for the guidelines.

USAB star logo

U.S. Access Board

Advancing Full Access and Inclusion for All

Information and Communication Technology

Revised 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines

PDF

About the ICT Accessibility 508 Standards and 255 Guidelines

These standards address access to information and communication technology (ICT) under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 255 of the Communications Act.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act charges the Access Board with developing and promulgating this rule. The statute also charges the Access Board with providing Technical Assistance on Section 508, which is provided through webinars, trainings, and in close collaboration with GSA and materials available from Section508.gov.

Section 508 requires access to ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies. Examples include computers, telecommunications equipment, multifunction office machines such as copiers that also operate as printers, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents. The Section 508 Standards, which are part of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, ensure access for people with physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities.

The Section 255 Guidelines cover telecommunications equipment and customer-premises equipment — such as telephones, cell phones, routers, set-top boxes, and computers with modems, interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol products, and software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment.

Background

February 3, 1998 – The Board publishes the original Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines.

December 21, 2000 – The Board issues the original Section 508 Standards.

July 6, 2006 – The Board organizes TEITAC, the Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee, to assist in updating the Section 508 Standards and Telecommunications Act Guidelines.

April 3, 2008 – The Advisory Committee presents its final report to the Board.

March 22, 2010 – The Board releases a draft proposed rule for public comment, docket ATBCB-2010-0001.

December 8, 2011 – The Board issues a revised draft proposed rule for public comment, docket ATBCB-2011-0007.

February 27, 2015 – The Board ICT proposed rule for public comment, docket ATBCB-2015-0002.

January 18, 2017 – The Board issues the final rule, docket ATBCB-2015-0002-014.

January 22, 2018 – The Board issues correction to the final rule to restore provisions for TTY access, docket document ATBCB-2015-0002-0146.

Additional Resources

Section508.gov — GSA’s Government-wide IT Accessibility Program

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. §794d)

Final Regulatory Impact Analysis (FRIA)

Comparison Table of WCAG 2.0 to Original 508 Standards

Mapping of WCAG 2.0 to Functional Performance Criteria

ICT Testing Baseline for Web Accessibility

Appendix A to Part 1194 – Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

508 Chapter 1: Application and Administration

E101 General

E101.1 Purpose

These Revised 508 Standards, which consist of 508 Chapters 1 and 2 (Appendix A), along with Chapters 3 through 7 (Appendix C), contain scoping and technical requirements for information and communication technology (ICT) to ensure accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities. Compliance with these standards is mandatory for Federal agencies subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d).

E101.2 Equivalent Facilitation

The use of an alternative design or technology that results in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities than would be provided by conformance to one or more of the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Revised 508 Standards is permitted. The functional performance criteria in Chapter 3 shall be used to determine whether substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability is provided to individuals with disabilities.

E101.3 Conventional Industry Tolerances

Dimensions are subject to conventional industry tolerances except where dimensions are stated as a range with specific minimum or maximum end points.

E101.4 Units of Measurement

Measurements are stated in metric and U.S. customary units. The values stated in each system (metric and U.S. customary units) may not be exact equivalents, and each system shall be used independently of the other.

E102 Referenced Standards

E102.1 Application

The specific editions of the standards listed in Chapter 7 are incorporated by reference into 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements) and Chapters 3 through 6 to the prescribed extent of each such reference. Where conflicts occur between the Revised 508 Standards and the referenced standards, these Revised 508 Standards apply.

E103 Definitions

E103.1 Terms Defined in Referenced Standards

Terms defined in referenced standards and not defined in E103.4 shall have the meaning as defined in the referenced standards.

E103.2 Undefined Terms

Any term not defined in E103.4 or in referenced standards shall be given its ordinarily accepted meaning in the sense that the context implies.

E103.3 Interchangeability

Words, terms, and phrases used in the singular include the plural and those used in the plural include the singular.

E103.4 Defined Terms

For the purpose of the Revised 508 Standards, the terms defined in E103.4 have the indicated meaning.

Agency

Any agency or department of the United States as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502, and the United States Postal Service.

Alteration

A change to existing ICT that affects interoperability, the user interface, or access to information or data.

Application.

Software designed to perform, or to help the user to perform, a specific task or tasks.

Assistive Technology (AT)

Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Audio Description.

Narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Audio description is a means to inform individuals who are blind or who have low vision about visual content essential for comprehension. Audio description of video provides information about actions, characters, scene changes, on-screen text, and other visual content. Audio description supplements the regular audio track of a program. Audio description is usually added during existing pauses in dialogue. Audio description is also called “video description” and “descriptive narration”.

Authoring Tool

Any software, or collection of software components, that can be used by authors, alone or collaboratively, to create or modify content for use by others, including other authors.

Closed Functionality

Characteristics that limit functionality or prevent a user from attaching or installing assistive technology. Examples of ICT with closed functionality are self-service machines, information kiosks, set-top boxes, fax machines, calculators, and computers that are locked down so that users may not adjust settings due to a policy such as Desktop Core Configuration.

Content

Electronic information and data, as well as the encoding that defines its structure, presentation, and interactions.

Document

Logically distinct assembly of content (such as a file, set of files, or streamed media) that: functions as a single entity rather than a collection; is not part of software; and does not include its own software to retrieve and present content for users. Examples of documents include, but are not limited to, letters, email messages, spreadsheets, presentations, podcasts, images, and movies.

Existing ICT

ICT that has been procured, maintained or used on or before January 18, 2018.

Hardware

A tangible device, equipment, or physical component of ICT, such as telephones, computers, multifunction copy machines, and keyboards.

Information Technology

Shall have the same meaning as the term ���information technology” set forth in 40 U.S.C. 11101(6).

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content. Examples of ICT include, but are not limited to: computers and peripheral equipment; information kiosks and transaction machines; telecommunications equipment; customer premises equipment; multifunction office machines; software; applications; Web sites; videos; and, electronic documents.

Keyboard

A set of systematically arranged alphanumeric keys or a control that generates alphanumeric input by which a machine or device is operated. A keyboard includes tactilely discernible keys used in conjunction with the alphanumeric keys if their function maps to keys on the keyboard interfaces.

Label

Text, or a component with a text alternative, that is presented to a user to identify content. A label is presented to all users, whereas a name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology. In many cases, the name and the label are the same.

Menu

A set of selectable options.

Name

Text by which software can identify a component to the user. A name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology, whereas a label is presented to all users. In many cases, the label and the name are the same. Name is unrelated to the name attribute in HTML.

Non-Web Document

A document that is not: a Web page, embedded in a Web page, or used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Non-Web Software

Software that is not: a Web page, not embedded in a Web page, and not used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Operable Part

Hardware-based user controls for activating, deactivating, or adjusting ICT.

Platform Accessibility Services

Services provided by a platform enabling interoperability with assistive technology. Examples are Application Programming Interfaces (API) and the Document Object Model (DOM).

Platform Software

Software that interacts with hardware or provides services for other software. Platform software may run or host other software, and may isolate them from underlying software or hardware layers. A single software component may have both platform and non-platform aspects. Examples of platforms are: desktop operating systems; embedded operating systems, including mobile systems; Web browsers; plug-ins to Web browsers that render a particular media or format; and sets of components that allow other applications to execute, such as applications which support macros or scripting.

Programmatically Determinable

Ability to be determined by software from author-supplied data that is provided in a way that different user agents, including assistive technologies, can extract and present the information to users in different modalities.

Public Facing

Content made available by an agency to members of the general public. Examples include, but are not limited to, an agency Web site, blog post, or social media pages.

Real-Time Text (RTT)

Communications using the transmission of text by which characters are transmitted by a terminal as they are typed. Real-time text is used for conversational purposes. Real-time text also may be used in voicemail, interactive voice response systems, and other similar application.

Revised 508 Standards

The standards for ICT developed, procured, maintained, or used by agencies subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as set forth in 508 Chapters 1 and 2 (36 CFR part 1194, Appendix A), and Chapters 3 through 7 (36 CFR part 1194, Appendix C).

Software

Programs, procedures, rules, and related data and documentation that direct the use and operation of ICT and instruct it to perform a given task or function. Software includes, but is not limited to, applications, non-Web software, and platform software.

Software Tools

Software for which the primary function is the development of other software. Software tools usually come in the form of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and are a suite of related products and utilities. Examples of IDEs include Microsoft® Visual Studio®, Apple® Xcode®, and Eclipse Foundation Eclipse®.

Telecommunications

The signal transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user’s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

Terminal

Device or software with which the end user directly interacts and that provides the user interface. For some systems, the software that provides the user interface may reside on more than one device such as a telephone and a server.

Text

A sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined and that expresses something in human language.

TTY

Equipment that enables interactive text based communications through the transmission of frequency-shift-keying audio tones across the public switched telephone network. TTYs include devices for real-time text communications and voice and text intermixed communications. Examples of intermixed communications are voice carry over and hearing carry over. One example of a TTY is a computer with TTY emulating software and modem.

Variable Message Signs (VMS)

Non-interactive electronic signs with scrolling, streaming, or paging-down capability. An example of a VMS is an electronic message board at a transit station that displays the gate and time information associated with the next train arrival.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

A technology that provides real-time voice communications. VoIP requires a broadband connection from the user’s location and customer premises equipment compatible with Internet protocol.

Web page

A non-embedded resource obtained from a single Universal Resource Identifier (URI) using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) plus any other resources that are provided for the rendering, retrieval, and presentation of content.

508 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements

E201 Application

E201.1 Scope

ICT that is procured, developed, maintained, or used by agencies shall conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202 General Exceptions

E202.1 General

ICT shall be exempt from compliance with the Revised 508 Standards to the extent specified by E202.

E202.2 Legacy ICT

Any component or portion of existing ICT that complies with an earlier standard issued pursuant to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (as republished in Appendix D), and that has not been altered on or after January 18, 2018, shall not be required to be modified to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202.3 National Security Systems

The Revised 508 Standards do not apply to ICT operated by agencies as part of a national security system, as defined by 40 U.S.C. 11103(a).

E202.4 Federal Contracts

ICT acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202.5 ICT Functions Located in Maintenance or Monitoring Spaces

Where status indicators and operable parts for ICT functions are located in spaces that are frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment, such status indicators and operable parts shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards.

E202.6 Undue Burden or Fundamental Alteration

Where an agency determines in accordance with E202.6 that conformance to requirements in the Revised 508 Standards would impose an undue burden or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT, conformance shall be required only to the extent that it does not impose an undue burden, or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.6.1 Basis for a Determination of Undue Burden

In determining whether conformance to requirements in the Revised 508 Standards would impose an undue burden on the agency, the agency shall consider the extent to which conformance would impose significant difficulty or expense considering the agency resources available to the program or component for which the ICT is to be procured, developed, maintained, or used.

E202.6.2 Required Documentation

The responsible agency official shall document in writing the basis for determining that conformance to requirements in the Revised 508 Standards constitute an undue burden on the agency, or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT. The documentation shall include an explanation of why and to what extent compliance with applicable requirements would create an undue burden or result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT.

E202.6.3 Alternative Means

Where conformance to one or more requirements in the Revised 508 Standards imposes an undue burden or a fundamental alteration in the nature of the ICT, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs.

E202.7 Best Meets

Where ICT conforming to one or more requirements in the Revised 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall procure the ICT that best meets the Revised 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs.

E202.7.1 Required Documentation

The responsible agency official shall document in writing: (a) the non-availability of conforming ICT, including a description of market research performed and which provisions cannot be met, and (b) the basis for determining that the ICT to be procured best meets the requirements in the Revised 508 Standards consistent with the agency’s business needs.

E202.7.2 Alternative Means

Where ICT that fully conforms to the Revised 508 Standards is not commercially available, the agency shall provide individuals with disabilities access to and use of information and data by an alternative means that meets identified needs.

E203 Access to Functionality

E203.1 General

Agencies shall ensure that all functionality of ICT is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, either directly or by supporting the use of assistive technology, and shall comply with E203. In providing access to all functionality of ICT, agencies shall ensure the following:

That Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities; and

That members of the public with disabilities who are seeking information or data from a Federal agency have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

E203.2 User Needs

When agencies procure, develop, maintain or use ICT they shall identify the needs of users with disabilities to determine:

How users with disabilities will perform the functions supported by the ICT; and

How the ICT will be developed, installed, configured, and maintained to support users with disabilities.

E204 Functional Performance Criteria

E204.1 General

Where the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 do not address one or more functions of ICT, the functions not addressed shall conform to the Functional Performance Criteria specified in Chapter 3.

E205 Electronic Content

E205.1 General

Electronic content shall comply with E205.

E205.2 Public Facing

Electronic content that is public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4.

E205.3 Agency Official Communication

Electronic content that is not public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in E205.4 when such content constitutes official business and is communicated by an agency through one or more of the following:

An emergency notification;

An initial or final decision adjudicating an administrative claim or proceeding;

An internal or external program or policy announcement;

A notice of benefits, program eligibility, employment opportunity, or personnel action;

A formal acknowledgement of receipt;

A survey questionnaire;

A template or form;

Educational or training materials; or

Intranet content designed as a Web page.

EXCEPTION: Records maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) pursuant to Federal recordkeeping statutes shall not be required to conform to the Revised 508 Standards unless public facing.

E205.4 Accessibility Standard

Electronic content shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTION: Non-Web documents shall not be required to conform to the following four WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

E205.4.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Documents

For non-Web documents, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “document” shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page”. In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in a document” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page”.

E206 Hardware

E206.1 General

Where components of ICT are hardware and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 4.

E207 Software

E207.1 General

Where components of ICT are software and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform to E207 and the requirements in Chapter 5.

EXCEPTION: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5.

E207.2 WCAG Conformance

User interface components, as well as the content of platforms and applications, shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTIONS:

Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to E207.2.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation; and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0.

E207.2.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Software

For non-Web software, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “software” shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page”. In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in software” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.”

E207.3 Complete Processes for Non-Web Software

Where non-Web software requires multiple steps to accomplish an activity, all software related to the activity to be accomplished shall conform to WCAG 2.0 as specified in E207.2.

E208 Support Documentation and Services

E208.1 General

Where an agency provides support documentation or services for ICT, such documentation and services shall conform to the requirements in Chapter 6.

Appendix B to Part 1194 – Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements

255 Chapter 1: Application and Administration

C101 General

C101.1 Purpose

These Revised 255 Guidelines, which consist of 255 Chapters 1 and 2 (Appendix B), along with Chapters 3 through 7 (Appendix C), contain scoping and technical requirements for the design, development, and fabrication of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment, content, and support documentation and services, to ensure accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities. These Revised 255 Guidelines are to be applied to the extent required by regulations issued by the Federal Communications Commission under Section 255 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (47 U.S.C. 255).

C101.2 Equivalent Facilitation

The use of an alternative design or technology that results in substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities than would be provided by conformance to one or more of the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 of the Revised 255 Guidelines is permitted. The functional performance criteria in Chapter 3 shall be used to determine whether substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability is provided to individuals with disabilities.

C101.3 Conventional Industry Tolerances

Dimensions are subject to conventional industry tolerances except where dimensions are stated as a range with specific minimum or maximum end points.

C101.4 Units of Measurement

Measurements are stated in metric and U.S. customary units. The values stated in each system (metric and U.S. customary units) may not be exact equivalents, and each system shall be used independently of the other.

C102 Referenced Standards

C102.1 Application

The specific editions of the standards listed in Chapter 7 are incorporated by reference into 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements) and Chapters 3 through 6 to the prescribed extent of each such reference. Where conflicts occur between the Revised 255 Guidelines and the referenced standards, these Revised 255 Guidelines apply.

C103 Definitions

C103.1 Terms Defined in Referenced Standards

Terms defined in referenced standards and not defined in C103.4 shall have the meaning as defined in the referenced standards.

C103.2 Undefined Terms

Any term not defined in C103.4 or in referenced standards shall be given its ordinarily accepted meaning in the sense that the context implies.

C103.3 Interchangeability

Words, terms, and phrases used in the singular include the plural and those used in the plural include the singular.

C103.4 Defined Terms

For the purpose of the Revised 255 Guidelines, the terms defined in C103.4 have the indicated meaning.

Application

Software designed to perform, or to help the user perform, a specific task or tasks.

Assistive Technology (AT)

Any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.

Audio Description

Narration added to the soundtrack to describe important visual details that cannot be understood from the main soundtrack alone. Audio description is a means to inform individuals who are blind or who have low vision about visual content essential for comprehension. Audio description of video provides information about actions, characters, scene changes, on-screen text, and other visual content. Audio description supplements the regular audio track of a program. Audio description is usually added during existing pauses in dialogue. Audio description is also called “video description” and “descriptive narration.”

Authoring Tool

Any software, or collection of software components, that can be used by authors, alone or collaboratively, to create or modify content for use by others, including other authors.

Closed Functionality

Characteristics that limit functionality or prevent a user from attaching or installing assistive technology.

Content

Electronic information and data, as well as the encoding that defines its structure, presentation, and interactions.

Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)

Equipment used on the premises of a person (other than a carrier) to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications service or interconnected VoIP service, including software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment. Examples of CPE are telephones, routers, switches, residential gateways, set-top boxes, fixed mobile convergence products, home networking adaptors and Internet access gateways which enable consumers to access communications service providers’ services and distribute them around their house via a Local Access Network (LAN).

Document

Logically distinct assembly of content (such as a file, set of files, or streamed media) that: functions as a single entity rather than a collection; is not part of software; and does not include its own software to retrieve and present content for users. Examples of documents include, but are not limited to, letters, email messages, spreadsheets, presentations, podcasts, images, and movies.

Hardware

A tangible device, equipment, or physical component of ICT, such as telephones, computers, multifunction copy machines, and keyboards.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Information technology and other equipment, systems, technologies, or processes, for which the principal function is the creation, manipulation, storage, display, receipt, or transmission of electronic data and information, as well as any associated content.

Keyboard

A set of systematically arranged alphanumeric keys or a control that generates alphanumeric input by which a machine or device is operated. A keyboard includes tactilely discernible keys used in conjunction with the alphanumeric keys if their function maps to keys on the keyboard interfaces.

Label

Text, or a component with a text alternative, that is presented to a user to identify content. A label is presented to all users, whereas a name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology. In many cases, the name and the label are the same.

Manufacturer

A final assembler of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment that sells such equipment to the public or to vendors that sell to the public.

Menu

A set of selectable options.

Name

Text by which software can identify a component to the user. A name may be hidden and only exposed by assistive technology, whereas a label is presented to all users. In many cases, the label and the name are the same. Name is unrelated to the name attribute in HTML.

Non-Web Document

A document that is not: a Web page, embedded in a Web page, or used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Non-Web Software

Software that is not: a Web page, not embedded in a Web page, and not used in the rendering or functioning of Web pages.

Operable Part

Hardware-based user controls for activating, deactivating, or adjusting ICT.

Platform Accessibility Services

Services provided by a platform enabling interoperability with assistive technology. Examples are Application Programming Interfaces (API) and the Document Object Model (DOM).

Platform Software

Software that interacts with hardware or provides services for other software. Platform software may run or host other software, and may isolate them from underlying software or hardware layers. A single software component may have both platform and non-platform aspects. Examples of platforms are: desktop operating systems; embedded operating systems, including mobile systems; Web browsers; plug-ins to Web browsers that render a particular media or format; and sets of components that allow other applications to execute, such as applications which support macros or scripting.

Programmatically Determinable

Ability to be determined by software from author-supplied data that is provided in a way that different user agents, including assistive technologies, can extract and present the information to users in different modalities.

Real-Time Text (RTT)

Communications using the transmission of text by which characters are transmitted by a terminal as they are typed. Real-time text is used for conversational purposes. Real-time text also may be used in voicemail, interactive voice response systems, and other similar application.

Revised 255 Guidelines

The guidelines for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment covered by Section 255 of the Communications Act as set forth in 255 Chapters 1 and 2 (36 CFR part 1194, Appendix B), and Chapters 3 through 7 (36 CFR part 1193, Appendix C).

Software

Programs, procedures, rules, and related data and documentation that direct the use and operation of ICT and instruct it to perform a given task or function. Software includes, but is not limited to, applications, non-Web software, and platform software.

Software Tools

Software for which the primary function is the development of other software. Software tools usually come in the form of an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) and are a suite of related products and utilities. Examples of IDEs include Microsoft® Visual Studio®, Apple® Xcode®, and Eclipse Foundation Eclipse®

Specialized Customer Premises Equipment

Assistive technology used by individuals with disabilities to originate, route, or terminate telecommunications or interconnected VoIP service. Examples are TTYs and amplified telephones.

Telecommunications

The signal transmission between or among points specified by the user of information and of the user’s choosing without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.

Telecommunications Equipment

Equipment, other than customer premises equipment, used by a carrier to provide telecommunications service or interconnected VoIP service and includes software integral to the operation of telecommunications function of such equipment.

Terminal

Device or software with which the end user directly interacts and that provides the user interface. For some systems, the software that provides the user interface may reside on more than one device such as a telephone and a server.

Text

A sequence of characters that can be programmatically determined and that expresses something in human language.

TTY

Equipment that enables interactive text based communications through the transmission of frequency-shift-keying audio tones across the public switched telephone network. TTYs include devices for real-time text communications and voice and text intermixed communications. Examples of intermixed communications are voice carry over and hearing carry over. One example of a TTY is a computer with TTY emulating software and modem.

Variable Message Signs (VMS)

Non-interactive electronic signs with scrolling, streaming, or paging-down capability. An example of a VMS is an electronic message board at a transit station that displays the gate and time information associated with the next train arrival.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

A technology that provides real-time voice communications. VoIP requires a broadband connection from the user’s location and customer premises equipment compatible with Internet protocol.

Web page

A non-embedded resource obtained from a single Universal Resource Identifier (URI) using HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) plus any other resources that are provided for the rendering, retrieval, and presentation of content.

255 Chapter 2: Scoping Requirements

C201 Application

C201.1 Scope

Manufacturers shall comply with the requirements in the Revised 255 Guidelines applicable to telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment (and related software integral to the operation of telecommunications functions) when newly released, upgraded, or substantially changed from an earlier version or model. Manufacturers shall also conform to the requirements in the Revised 255 Guidelines for support documentation and services, including electronic documents and Web-based product support.

C201.2. Readily Achievable

When a manufacturer determines that conformance to one or more requirements in Chapter 4 (Hardware) or Chapter 5 (Software) would not be readily achievable, it shall ensure that the equipment or software is compatible with existing peripheral devices or specialized customer premises equipment commonly used by individuals with disabilities to the extent readily achievable.

C201.3 Access to Functionality

Manufacturers shall ensure that telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment is accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities by providing direct access to all telecommunications functionality. Where manufacturers can demonstrate that it is not readily achievable for such equipment to provide direct access to all functionality, the equipment shall support the use of assistive technology and specialized customer premises equipment where readily achievable.

C201.4 Prohibited Reduction of Accessibility, Usability, and Compatibility

No change shall be undertaken that decreases, or has the effect of decreasing, the net accessibility, usability, or compatibility of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment.

EXCEPTION: Discontinuation of a product shall not be prohibited.

C201.5 Design, Development, and Fabrication

Manufacturers shall evaluate the accessibility, usability, and interoperability of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment during its product design, development, and fabrication.

C202 Functional Performance Criteria

C202.1 General

Where the requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 do not address one or more functions of telecommunications or customer premises equipment, the functions not addressed shall conform to the Functional Performance Criteria specified in Chapter 3.

C203 Electronic Content

C203.1 General

Electronic content that is integral to the use of telecommunications or customer premises equipment shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTION: Non-Web documents shall not be required to conform to the following four WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks, 2.4.5 Multiple Ways, 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation, and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

C203.1.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Documents

For non-Web documents, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “document’ shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page.” In addition, in Success Criterion in 1.4.2, the phrase “in a document” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.”

C204 Hardware

C204.1 General

Where components of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment are hardware, and transmit information or have a user interface, those components shall conform to applicable requirements in Chapter 4.

EXCEPTION: Components of telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment shall not be required to conform to 402, 407.7, 407.8, 408, 412.8.4, and 415.

C205 Software

C205.1 General

Where software is integral to the use of telecommunications functions of telecommunications equipment or customer premises equipment and has a user interface, such software shall conform to C205 and applicable requirements in Chapter 5.

EXCEPTION: Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to the requirements in Chapter 5.

C205.2 WCAG Conformance

User interface components, as well as the content of platforms and applications shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

EXCEPTIONS:

Software that is assistive technology and that supports the accessibility services of the platform shall not be required to conform to C205.2.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to the following four Success Criteria in WCAG 2.0: 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks; 2.4.5 Multiple Ways; 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation; and 3.2.4 Consistent Identification.

Non-Web software shall not be required to conform to Conformance Requirement 3 Complete Processes in WCAG 2.0.

C205.2.1 Word Substitution when Applying WCAG to Non-Web Software

For non-Web software, wherever the term “Web page” or “page” appears in WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements, the term “software” shall be substituted for the terms “Web page” and “page.” In addition, in Success Criterion 1.4.2, the phrase “in software” shall be substituted for the phrase “on a Web page.”

C205.3 Complete Processes for Non-Web Software

Where non-Web software requires multiple steps to accomplish an activity, all software related to the activity to be accomplished shall conform to WCAG 2.0 as specified in C205.2.

C206 Support Documentation and Services

C206.1 General

Where support documentation and services are provided for telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment, manufacturers shall ensure that such documentation and services conform to Chapter 6 and are made available upon request at no additional charge.

Appendix C to Part 1194 – Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements

Chapter 3: Functional Performance Criteria

301 General

301.1 Scope

The requirements of Chapter 3 shall apply to ICT where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

302 Functional Performance Criteria

302.1 Without Vision

Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user vision.

302.2 With Limited Vision

Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that enables users to make use of limited vision.

302.3 Without Perception of Color

Where a visual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one visual mode of operation that does not require user perception of color.

302.4 Without Hearing

Where an audible mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user hearing.

302.5 With Limited Hearing

Where an audible mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that enables users to make use of limited hearing.

302.6 Without Speech

Where speech is used for input, control, or operation, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require user speech.

302.7 With Limited Manipulation

Where a manual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that does not require fine motor control or simultaneous manual operations.

302.8 With Limited Reach and Strength

Where a manual mode of operation is provided, ICT shall provide at least one mode of operation that is operable with limited reach and limited strength.

302.9 With Limited Language, Cognitive, and Learning Abilities

ICT shall provide features making its use by individuals with limited cognitive, language, and learning abilities simpler and easier.

Chapter 4: Hardware

401 General

401.1 Scope

The requirements of Chapter 4 shall apply to ICT that is hardware where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

EXCEPTION: Hardware that is assistive technology shall not be required to conform to the requirements of this chapter.

402 Closed Functionality

402.1 General

ICT with closed functionality shall be operable without requiring the user to attach or install assistive technology other than personal headsets or other audio couplers, and shall conform to 402.

402.2 Speech-Output Enabled

ICT with a display screen shall be speech-output enabled for full and independent use by individuals with vision impairments.

EXCEPTIONS:

Variable message signs conforming to 402.5 shall not be required to be speech-output enabled.

Speech output shall not be required where ICT display screens only provide status indicators and those indicators conform to 409.

Where speech output cannot be supported due to constraints in available memory or processor capability, ICT shall be permitted to conform to 409 in lieu of 402.2.

Audible tones shall be permitted instead of speech output where the content of user input is not displayed as entered for security purposes, including, but not limited to, asterisks representing personal identification numbers.

Speech output shall not be required for: the machine location; date and time of transaction; customer account number; and the machine identifier or label.

Speech output shall not be required for advertisements and other similar information unless they convey information that can be used for the transaction being conducted.

402.2.1 Information Displayed On-Screen

Speech output shall be provided for all information displayed on-screen.

402.2.2 Transactional Outputs

Where transactional outputs are provided, the speech output shall audibly provide all information necessary to verify a transaction.

402.2.3 Speech Delivery Type and Coordination

Speech output shall be delivered through a mechanism that is readily available to all users, including, but not limited to, an industry standard connector or a telephone handset. Speech shall be recorded or digitized human, or synthesized. Speech output shall be coordinated with information displayed on the screen.

402.2.4 User Control

Speech output for any single function shall be automatically interrupted when a transaction is selected. Speech output shall be capable of being repeated and paused.

402.2.5 Braille Instructions

Where speech output is required by 402.2, braille instructions for initiating the speech mode of operation shall be provided. Braille shall be contracted and shall conform to 36 CFR part 1191, Appendix D, Section 703.3.1.

EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use shall not be required to conform to 402.2.5.

402.3 Volume

ICT that delivers sound, including speech output required by 402.2, shall provide volume control and output amplification conforming to 402.3.

EXCEPTION: ICT conforming to 412.2 shall not be required to conform to 402.3.

402.3.1 Private Listening

Where ICT provides private listening, it shall provide a mode of operation for controlling the volume. Where ICT delivers output by an audio transducer typically held up to the ear, a means for effective magnetic wireless coupling to hearing technologies shall be provided.

402.3.2 Non-private Listening

Where ICT provides non-private listening, incremental volume control shall be provided with output amplification up to a level of at least 65 dB. A function shall be provided to automatically reset the volume to the default level after every use.

402.4 Characters on Display Screens

At least one mode of characters displayed on the screen shall be in a sans serif font. Where ICT does not provide a screen enlargement feature, characters shall be 3/16 inch (4.8 mm) high minimum based on the uppercase letter “I”. Characters shall contrast with their background with either light characters on a dark background or dark characters on a light background.

402.5 Characters on Variable Message Signs

Characters on variable message signs shall conform to section 703.7 Variable Message Signs of ICC A117.1-2009 (incorporated by reference, see 702.6.1).

403 Biometrics

403.1 General

Where provided, biometrics shall not be the only means for user identification or control.

EXCEPTION: Where at least two biometric options that use different biological characteristics are provided, ICT shall be permitted to use biometrics as the only means for user identification or control.

404 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility

404.1 General

ICT that transmits or converts information or communication shall not remove non-proprietary information provided for accessibility or shall restore it upon delivery.

405 Privacy

405.1 General

The same degree of privacy of input and output shall be provided to all individuals. When speech output required by 402.2 is enabled, the screen shall not blank automatically.

406 Standard Connections

406.1 General

Where data connections used for input and output are provided, at least one of each type of connection shall conform to industry standard non-proprietary formats.

407 Operable Parts

407.1 General

Where provided, operable parts used in the normal operation of ICT shall conform to 407.

407.2 Contrast

Where provided, keys and controls shall contrast visually from background surfaces. Characters and symbols shall contrast visually from background surfaces with either light characters or symbols on a dark background or dark characters or symbols on a light background.

407.3 Input Controls

At least one input control conforming to 407.3 shall be provided for each function.

EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use with input controls that are audibly discernable without activation and operable by touch shall not be required to conform to 407.3.

407.3.1 Tactilely Discernible

Input controls shall be operable by touch and tactilely discernible without activation.

407.3.2 Alphabetic Keys

Where provided, individual alphabetic keys shall be arranged in a QWERTY-based keyboard layout and the “F” and “J” keys shall be tactilely distinct from the other keys.

407.3.3 Numeric Keys

Where provided, numeric keys shall be arranged in a 12-key ascending or descending keypad layout. The number five key shall be tactilely distinct from the other keys. Where the ICT provides an alphabetic overlay on numeric keys, the relationships between letters and digits shall conform to ITU-T Recommendation E.161 (incorporated by reference, see 702.7.1).

407.4 Key Repeat

Where a keyboard with key repeat is provided, the delay before the key repeat feature is activated shall be fixed at, or adjustable to, 2 seconds minimum.

407.5 Timed Response

Where a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted visually, as well as by touch or sound, and shall be given the opportunity to indicate that more time is needed.

407.6 Operation

At least one mode of operation shall be operable with one hand and shall not require tight grasping, pinching, or twisting of the wrist. The force required to activate operable parts shall be 5 pounds (22.2 N) maximum.

407.7 Tickets, Fare Cards, and Keycards

Where tickets, fare cards, or keycards are provided, they shall have an orientation that is tactilely discernible if orientation is important to further use of the ticket, fare card, or keycard.

407.8 Reach Height and Depth

At least one of each type of operable part of stationary ICT shall be at a height conforming to 407.8.2 or 407.8.3 according to its position established by the vertical reference plane specified in 407.8.1 for a side reach or a forward reach. Operable parts used with speech output required by 402.2 shall not be the only type of operable part complying with 407.8 unless that part is the only operable part of its type.

407.8.1 Vertical Reference Plane

Operable parts shall be positioned for a side reach or a forward reach determined with respect to a vertical reference plane. The vertical reference plane shall be located in conformance to 407.8.2 or 407.8.3.

407.8.1.1 Vertical Plane for Side Reach

Where a side reach is provided, the vertical reference plane shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) long minimum.

graphical representation of dimensions for vertical plane side reach

407.8.1.2 Vertical Plane for Forward Reach

Where a forward reach is provided, the vertical reference plane shall be 30 inches (760 mm) long minimum.

graphical representation of dimensions for vertical plane forward reach

407.8.2 Side Reach

Operable parts of ICT providing a side reach shall conform to 407.8.2.1 or 407.8.2.2. The vertical reference plane shall be centered on the operable part and placed at the leading edge of the maximum protrusion of the ICT within the length of the vertical reference plane. Where a side reach requires a reach over a portion of the ICT, the height of that portion of the ICT shall be 34 inches (865 mm) maximum.

407.8.2.1 Unobstructed Side Reach

Where the operable part is located 10 inches (255 mm) or less beyond the vertical reference plane, the operable part shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) high maximum and 15 inches (380 mm) high minimum above the floor.

graphical representation of dimensions for unobstructed side reach

407.8.2.2 Obstructed Side Reach

Where the operable part is located more than 10 inches (255 mm), but not more than 24 inches (610 mm), beyond the vertical reference plane, the height of the operable part shall be 46 inches (1170 mm) high maximum and 15 inches (380 mm) high minimum above the floor. The operable part shall not be located more than 24 inches (610 mm) beyond the vertical reference plane.

graphical representation of dimensions for obstructed side reach

407.8.3 Forward Reach

Operable parts of ICT providing a forward reach shall conform to 407.8.3.1 or 407.8.3.2. The vertical reference plane shall be centered, and intersect with, the operable part. Where a forward reach allows a reach over a portion of the ICT, the height of that portion of the ICT shall be 34 inches (865 mm) maximum.

407.8.3.1 Unobstructed Forward Reach

Where the operable part is located at the leading edge of the maximum protrusion within the length of the vertical reference plane of the ICT, the operable part shall be 48 inches (1220 mm) high maximum and 15 inches (380 mm) high minimum above the floor.

graphical representation of dimensions for unobstructed forward reach

407.8.3.2 Obstructed Forward Reach

Where the operable part is located beyond the leading edge of the maximum protrusion within the length of the vertical reference plane, the operable part shall conform to 407.8.3.2. The maximum allowable forward reach to an operable part shall be 25 inches (635 mm).

graphical representation of dimensions for obstructed forward reach

407.8.3.2.1 Operable Part Height for ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach

The height of the operable part shall conform to Table 407.8.3.2.1.

Table 407.8.3.2.1 Operable Part Height for ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach Reach Depth Operable Part Height

Less than 20 inches (510 mm) 48 inches (1220 mm) maximum

20 inches (510 mm) to 25 inches (635 mm) 44 inches (1120 mm) maximum

graphical representation of dimensions for operable part height for obstructed forward reach

407.8.3.2.2 Knee and Toe Space under ICT with Obstructed Forward Reach

Knee and toe space under ICT shall be 27 inches (685 mm) high minimum, 25 inches (635 mm) deep maximum, and 30 inches (760 mm) wide minimum and shall be clear of obstructions.

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach

EXCEPTIONS:

Toe space shall be permitted to provide a clear height of 9 inches (230 mm) minimum above the floor and a clear depth of 6 inches (150 mm) maximum from the vertical reference plane toward the leading edge of the ICT.

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach exception one

At a depth of 6 inches (150 mm) maximum from the vertical reference plane toward the leading edge of the ICT, space between 9 inches (230 mm) and 27 inches (685 mm) minimum above the floor shall be permitted to reduce at a rate of 1 inch (25 mm) in depth for every 6 inches (150 mm) in height.

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach exception two

Supplemental graphic combining both Exceptions 1 and 2:

graphical representation of dimensions for knee and toe space for obstructed forward reach exceptions one and two

408 Display Screens

408.1 General

Where provided, display screens shall conform to 408.

408.2 Visibility

Where stationary ICT provides one or more display screens, at least one of each type of display screen shall be visible from a point located 40 inches (1015 mm) above the floor space where the display screen is viewed.

408.3 Flashing

Where ICT emits lights in flashes, there shall be no more than three flashes in any one-second period.

EXCEPTION: Flashes that do not exceed the general flash and red flash thresholds defined in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) are not required to conform to 408.3.

409 Status Indicators

409.1 General

Where provided, status indicators shall be discernible visually and by touch or sound.

410 Color Coding

410.1 General

Where provided, color coding shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element.

411 Audible Signals

411.1 General

Where provided, audible signals or cues shall not be used as the only means of conveying information, indicating an action, or prompting a response

412 ICT with Two-Way Voice Communication

412.1 General

ICT that provides two-way voice communication shall conform to 412.

412.2 Volume Gain

ICT that provides two-way voice communication shall conform to 412.2.1 or 412.2.2.

412.2.1 Volume Gain for Wireline Telephones

Volume gain conforming to 47 CFR 68.317 shall be provided on analog and digital wireline telephones.

412.2.2 Volume Gain for Non-Wireline ICT

A method for increasing volume shall be provided for non-wireline ICT.

412.3 Interference Reduction and Magnetic Coupling

Where ICT delivers output by a handset or other type of audio transducer that is typically held up to the ear, ICT shall reduce interference with hearing technologies and provide a means for effective magnetic wireless coupling in conformance with 412.3.1 or 412.3.2.

412.3.1 Wireless Handsets

ICT in the form of wireless handsets shall conform to ANSI/IEEE C63.19-2011 (incorporated by reference, see 702.5.1).

412.3.2 Wireline Handsets

ICT in the form of wireline handsets, including cordless handsets, shall conform to TIA-1083-B (incorporated by reference, see702.9.1).

412.4 Digital Encoding of Speech

ICT in IP-based networks shall transmit and receive speech that is digitally encoded in the manner specified by ITU-T Recommendation G.722.2 (incorporated by reference, see 702.7.2) or IETF RFC 6716 (incorporated by reference, see 702.8.1).

412.5 Real-Time Text Functionality

[Reserved].

412.6 Caller ID

Where provided, caller identification and similar telecommunications functions shall be visible and audible.

412.7 Video Communication

Where ICT provides real-time video functionality, the quality of the video shall be sufficient to support communication using sign language.

412.8 Legacy TTY Support

ICT equipment or systems with two-way voice communication that do not themselves provide TTY functionality shall conform to 412.8.

412.8.1 TTY Connectability

ICT shall include a standard non-acoustic connection point for TTYs.

412.8.2 Voice and Hearing Carry Over

ICT shall provide a microphone capable of being turned on and off to allow the user to intermix speech with TTY use.

412.8.3 Signal Compatibility

ICT shall support all commonly used cross-manufacturer non-proprietary standard TTY signal protocols where the system interoperates with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

412.8.4 Voice Mail and Other Messaging Systems

Where provided, voice mail, auto-attendant, interactive voice response, and caller identification systems shall be usable with a TTY.

413 Closed Caption Processing Technologies

413.1 General

Where ICT displays or processes video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide closed caption processing technology that conforms to 413.1.1 or 413.1.2.

413.1.1 Decoding and Display of Closed Captions

Players and displays shall decode closed caption data and support display of captions.

413.1.2 Pass-Through of Closed Caption Data

Cabling and ancillary equipment shall pass through caption data.

414 Audio Description Processing Technologies

414.1 General

Where ICT displays or processes video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide audio description processing technology conforming to 414.1.1 or 414.1.2.

414.1.1 Digital Television Tuners

Digital television tuners shall provide audio description processing that conforms to ATSC A/53 Digital Television Standard, Part 5 (2014) (incorporated by reference, see 702.2.1). Digital television tuners shall provide processing of audio description when encoded as a Visually Impaired (VI) associated audio service that is provided as a complete program mix containing audio description according to the ATSC A/53 standard.

414.1.2 Other ICT

ICT other than digital television tuners shall provide audio description processing.

415 User Controls for Captions and Audio Descriptions

415.1 General

Where ICT displays video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide user controls for closed captions and audio descriptions conforming to 415.1.

EXCEPTION: Devices for personal use shall not be required to conform to 415.1 provided that captions and audio descriptions can be enabled through system-wide platform settings.

415.1.1 Caption Controls

Where ICT provides operable parts for volume control, ICT shall also provide operable parts for caption selection.

415.1.2 Audio Description Controls

Where ICT provides operable parts for program selection, ICT shall also provide operable parts for the selection of audio description.

Chapter 5: Software

501 General

501.1 Scope

The requirements of Chapter 5 shall apply to software where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

EXCEPTION: Where Web applications do not have access to platform accessibility services and do not include components that have access to platform accessibility services, they shall not be required to conform to 502 or 503 provided that they conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

502 Interoperability with Assistive Technology

502.1 General

Software shall interoperate with assistive technology and shall conform to 502.

EXCEPTION: ICT conforming to 402 shall not be required to conform to 502.

502.2 Documented Accessibility Features

Software with platform features defined in platform documentation as accessibility features shall conform to 502.2.

502.2.1 User Control of Accessibility Features

Platform software shall provide user control over platform features that are defined in the platform documentation as accessibility features.

502.2.2 No Disruption of Accessibility Features

Software shall not disrupt platform features that are defined in the platform documentation as accessibility features.

502.3 Accessibility Services

Platform software and software tools that are provided by the platform developer shall provide a documented set of accessibility services that support applications running on the platform to interoperate with assistive technology and shall conform to 502.3. Applications that are also platforms shall expose the underlying platform accessibility services or implement other documented accessibility services.

502.3.1 Object Information

The object role, state(s), properties, boundary, name, and description shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.2 Modification of Object Information

States and properties that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through assistive technology.

502.3.3 Row, Column, and Headers

If an object is in a data table, the occupied rows and columns, and any headers associated with those rows or columns, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.4 Values

Any current value(s), and any set or range of allowable values associated with an object, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.5 Modification of Values

Values that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through assistive technology.

502.3.6 Label Relationships

Any relationship that a component has as a label for another component, or of being labeled by another component, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.7 Hierarchical Relationships

Any hierarchical (parent-child) relationship that a component has as a container for, or being contained by, another component shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.8 Text

The content of text objects, text attributes, and the boundary of text rendered to the screen, shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.9 Modification of Text

Text that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through assistive technology.

502.3.10 List of Actions

A list of all actions that can be executed on an object shall be programmatically determinable.

502.3.11 Actions on Objects

Applications shall allow assistive technology to programmatically execute available actions on objects.

502.3.12 Focus Cursor

Applications shall expose information and mechanisms necessary to track focus, text insertion point, and selection attributes of user interface components.

502.3.13 Modification of Focus Cursor

Focus, text insertion point, and selection attributes that can be set by the user shall be capable of being set programmatically, including through the use of assistive technology.

502.3.14 Event Notification

Notification of events relevant to user interactions, including but not limited to, changes in the component’s state(s), value, name, description, or boundary, shall be available to assistive technology.

502.4 Platform Accessibility Features

Platforms and platform software shall conform to the requirements in ANSI/HFES 200.2, Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces — Part 2: Accessibility (2008) (incorporated by reference, see 702.4.1) listed below:

Section 9.3.3 Enable sequential entry of multiple (chorded) keystrokes;

Section 9.3.4 Provide adjustment of delay before key acceptance;

Section 9.3.5 Provide adjustment of same-key double-strike acceptance;

Section 10.6.7 Allow users to choose visual alternative for audio output;

Section 10.6.8 Synchronize audio equivalents for visual events;

Section 10.6.9 Provide speech output services; and

Section 10.7.1 Display any captions provided.

503 Applications

503.1 General

Applications shall conform to 503.

503.2 User Preferences

Applications shall permit user preferences from platform settings for color, contrast, font type, font size, and focus cursor.

EXCEPTION: Applications that are designed to be isolated from their underlying platform software, including Web applications, shall not be required to conform to 503.2.

503.3 Alternative User Interfaces

Where an application provides an alternative user interface that functions as assistive technology, the application shall use platform and other industry standard accessibility services.

503.4 User Controls for Captions and Audio Description

Where ICT displays video with synchronized audio, ICT shall provide user controls for closed captions and audio descriptions conforming to 503.4.

503.4.1 Caption Controls

Where user controls are provided for volume adjustment, ICT shall provide user controls for the selection of captions at the same menu level as the user controls for volume or program selection.

503.4.2 Audio Description Controls

Where user controls are provided for program selection, ICT shall provide user controls for the selection of audio descriptions at the same menu level as the user controls for volume or program selection.

504 Authoring Tools

504.1 General

Where an application is an authoring tool, the application shall conform to 504 to the extent that information required for accessibility is supported by the destination format.

504.2 Content Creation or Editing

Authoring tools shall provide a mode of operation to create or edit content that conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) for all supported features and, as applicable, to file formats supported by the authoring tool. Authoring tools shall permit authors the option of overriding information required for accessibility.

EXCEPTION: Authoring tools shall not be required to conform to 504.2 when used to directly edit plain text source code.

504.2.1 Preservation of Information Provided for Accessibility in Format Conversion

Authoring tools shall, when converting content from one format to another or saving content in multiple formats, preserve the information required for accessibility to the extent that the information is supported by the destination format.

504.2.2 PDF Export

Authoring tools capable of exporting PDF files that conform to ISO 32000-1:2008 (PDF 1.7) shall also be capable of exporting PDF files that conform to ANSI/AIIM/ISO 14289-1:2016 (PDF/UA-1) (incorporated by reference, see 702.3.1).

504.3 Prompts

Authoring tools shall provide a mode of operation that prompts authors to create content that conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) for supported features and, as applicable, to file formats supported by the authoring tool.

504.4 Templates

Where templates are provided, templates allowing content creation that conforms to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1) shall be provided for a range of template uses for supported features and, as applicable, to file formats supported by the authoring tool.

Chapter 6: Support Documentation and Services

601 General

601.1 Scope

The technical requirements in Chapter 6 shall apply to ICT support documentation and services where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where otherwise referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

602 Support Documentation

602.1 General

Documentation that supports the use of ICT shall conform to 602.

602.2 Accessibility and Compatibility Features

Documentation shall list and explain how to use the accessibility and compatibility features required by Chapters 4 and 5. Documentation shall include accessibility features that are built-in and accessibility features that provide compatibility with assistive technology.

602.3 Electronic Support Documentation

Documentation in electronic format, including Web-based self-service support, shall conform to Level A and Level AA Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements in WCAG 2.0 (incorporated by reference, see 702.10.1).

602.4 Alternate Formats for Non-Electronic Support Documentation

Where support documentation is only provided in non-electronic formats, alternate formats usable by individuals with disabilities shall be provided upon request.

603 Support Services

603.1 General

ICT support services including, but not limited to, help desks, call centers, training services, and automated self-service technical support, shall conform to 603.

603.2 Information on Accessibility and Compatibility Features

ICT support services shall include information on the accessibility and compatibility features required by 602.2.

603.3 Accommodation of Communication Needs

Support services shall be provided directly to the user or through a referral to a point of contact. Such ICT support services shall accommodate the communication needs of individuals with disabilities.

Chapter 7: Referenced Standards

701 General

701.1 Scope

The standards referenced in Chapter 7 shall apply to ICT where required by 508 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), 255 Chapter 2 (Scoping Requirements), and where referenced in any other chapter of the Revised 508 Standards or Revised 255 Guidelines.

702 Incorporation by Reference

702.1 Approved IBR Standards

The Director of the Office of the Federal Register has approved these standards for incorporation by reference into this part in accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51. Copies of the referenced standards may be inspected at the U.S. Access Board, 1331 F Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 272-0080, and may also be obtained from the sources listed below. They are also available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202–741–6030 or go to National Archives Code of Federal Regulations Incorporation by Reference.

702.2 Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Advanced Television Systems Committee, 1776 K Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20006–2304.

702.2.1 ATSC A/53 Part 5:2014

Digital Television Standard, Part 5—AC-3 Audio System Characteristics, August 28, 2014.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 414.1.1.

702.3 Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from AIIM, 1100 Wayne Ave., Ste. 1100, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910.

702.3.1 ANSI/AIIM/ISO 14289-1-2016

Document Management Applications — Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1), ANSI-approved February 8, 2016.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 504.2.2.

702.4 Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, P.O. Box 1369, Santa Monica, CA 90406–1369.

702.4.1 ANSI/HFES 200.2

Human Factors Engineering of Software User Interfaces — Part 2: Accessibility, copyright 2008.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 502.4.

702.5 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 10662 Los Vaqueros Circle, P.O. Box 3014, Los Alamitos, CA 90720–1264.

702.5.1 ANSI/IEEE C63.19-2011

American National Standard for Methods of Measurement of Compatibility between Wireless Communications Devices and Hearing Aids, May 27, 2011.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.3.1.

702.6 International Code Council (ICC)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from ICC Publications, 4051 W. Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478–5795.

702.6.1 ICC A117.1-2009

Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, approved October 20, 2010.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 402.5.

702.7 International Telecommunications Union Telecommunications Standardization Sector (ITU-T)

Copies of the referenced standards may be obtained from the International Telecommunication Union, Telecommunications Standardization Sector, Place des Nations CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland.

702.7.1 ITU-T Recommendation E.161

Series E. Overall Network Operation, Telephone Service, Service Operation and Human Factors—International operation - Numbering plan of the international telephone service, Arrangement of digits, letters and symbols on telephones and other devices that can be used for gaining access to a telephone network, February 2001.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 407.3.3.

702.7.2 ITU-T Recommendation G.722.2

Series G. Transmission Systems and Media, Digital Systems and Networks – Digital terminal equipment – Coding of analogue signals by methods other than PCM, Wideband coding of speech at around 16 kbit/s using Adaptive Multi-Rate Wideband (AMR-WB), July 2003.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.4.

702.8 Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the Internet Engineering Task Force.

702.8.1 IETF RFC 6716

Definition of the Opus Codec, September 2012, J.M. Valin, Mozilla Corporation, K. Vos, Skype Technologies S.A., T. Terriberry, Mozilla Corporation.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.4.

702.9 Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

Copies of the referenced standard, published by the Telecommunications Industry Association, may be obtained from IHS Markit, 15 Inverness Way East, Englewood, CO 80112.

702.9.1 TIA-1083-B

Telecommunications—Communications Products—Handset Magnetic Measurement Procedures and Performance Requirements, October 2015.

IBR approved for Appendix C, Section 412.3.2.

702.10 Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C)

Copies of the referenced standard may be obtained from the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Room 32-G515, Cambridge, MA 02139.

702.10.1 WCAG 2.0

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, W3C Recommendation, December 11, 2008.

IBR approved for: Appendix A (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Application and Scoping Requirements), Sections E205.4, E205.4 Exception, E205.4.1, E207.2, E207.2 Exception 2, E207.2 Exception 3, E207.2.1, E207.3; Appendix B (Section 255 of the Communications Act: Application and Scoping Requirements), C203.1, C203.1 Exception, C203.1.1, C205.2, C205.2 Exception 2, C205.2 Exception 3, C205.2.1, C205.3; and Appendix C (Functional Performance Criteria and Technical Requirements), 408.3 Exception, 501.1 Exception, 504.2, 504.3, 504.4, and 602.3.

Appendix D to Part 1194: Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards as Originally Published on December 21, 2000

[65 FR 80523, Dec. 21, 2000. Redesignated and amended at 82 FR 5832, Jan. 18, 2017]

Subpart A — General

§ D1194.1 Purpose.

The purpose of this part is to implement section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d). Section 508 requires that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

§ D1194.2 Application.

(a) Products covered by this part shall comply with all applicable provisions of this part. When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using electronic and information technology, each agency shall ensure that the products comply with the applicable provisions of this part, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

(1) When compliance with the provisions of this part imposes an undue burden, agencies shall provide individuals with disabilities with the information and data involved by an alternative means of access that allows the individual to use the information and data.

(2) When procuring a product, if an agency determines that compliance with any provision of this part imposes an undue burden, the documentation by the agency supporting the procurement shall explain why, and to what extent, compliance with each such provision creates an undue burden.

(b) When procuring a product, each agency shall procure products which comply with the provisions in this part when such products are available in the commercial marketplace or when such products are developed in response to a Government solicitation. Agencies cannot claim a product as a whole is not commercially available because no product in the marketplace meets all the standards. If products are commercially available that meet some but not all of the standards, the agency must procure the product that best meets the standards.

(c) Except as provided by §1194.3(b), this part applies to electronic and information technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by agencies directly or used by a contractor under a contract with an agency which requires the use of such product, or requires the use, to a significant extent, of such product in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product.

§ 1194.3 General exceptions.

(a) This part does not apply to any electronic and information technology operated by agencies, the function, operation, or use of which involves intelligence activities, cryptologic activities related to national security, command and control of military forces, equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system, or systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions. Systems which are critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions do not include a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications (including payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications).

(b) This part does not apply to electronic and information technology that is acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract.

(c) Except as required to comply with the provisions in this part, this part does not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device at a workstation of a Federal employee who is not an individual with a disability.

(d) When agencies provide access to the public to information or data through electronic and information technology, agencies are not required to make products owned by the agency available for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public, or to purchase products for access and use by individuals with disabilities at a location other than that where the electronic and information technology is provided to the public.

(e) This part shall not be construed to require a fundamental alteration in the nature of a product or its components.

(f) Products located in spaces frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair, or occasional monitoring of equipment are not required to comply with this part.

§ D1194.4 Definitions.

The following definitions apply to this part:

Agency

Any Federal department or agency, including the United States Postal Service.

Alternate formats

Alternate formats usable by people with disabilities may include, but are not limited to, Braille, ASCII text, large print, recorded audio, and electronic formats that comply with this part.

Alternate methods

Different means of providing information, including product documentation, to people with disabilities. Alternate methods may include, but are not limited to, voice, fax, relay service, TTY, Internet posting, captioning, text-to-speech synthesis, and audio description.

Assistive technology

[chatbotfriends]

🧠 “AI.gov” Isn’t a Tech Rollout — It’s a Digital Coup

A leaked GitHub repo has exposed a plan by Trump-aligned officials to deploy AI across the federal government through a shadowy project called AI.gov.

This isn’t about modernization. It’s about centralized control, corporate capture, and public silence.

🚨 CONSOLE: Tracks real-time AI use by federal employees. Supporters call it oversight. Critics say it’s surveillance.

🧠 Chatbots in command: A deep learning assistant set to process FOIA requests, policy decisions, and public queries—without clear safeguards against “hallucinations” or misuse.

🕵️‍♂️ GitHub repo vanished after media inquiries—no public announcement, no explanation. Archived versions show a July 4 launch, likely to bury it under fireworks.

⚠️ Private AI models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere) integrated via Amazon Bedrock—some without FedRAMP certification. That’s a national security risk and a regulatory bypass.

💼 Thomas Shedd, a former Tesla engineer now heading GSA tech transformation, is steering this. No public accountability. Heavy Silicon Valley ties.

⚖️ States like California and New York are resisting, drafting laws to protect data sovereignty. AI.gov reportedly aims to override them.

🔗 Read the full leak summary:

https://www.msn.com/.../trump-team-s.../ss-AA1GPKJA

This isn’t innovation. It’s consolidation.

AI is being weaponized—not for freedom, but for silent control.

Don’t sleep through the smoke. The next revolution won’t be televised—it’ll be logged, tracked, and pre-approved by a chatbot.