New accessible technology bill on the horizon

CNET reports that there's a bill being proposed that would require greater accessibility of newer technologies, such as voice over internet protocol (VOIP) such as Skype. It also looks to require mobile devices which show video to have the ability to show captions, much like TV sets do.

Accessibility in new technolgies is definitely an area which is in need of attention. Legislation is a piece of this, however, given that the web is world wide, the legislation would impact only devices sold in the US and sites originating in the US. Consumer forces are what's driving the changes on the web, and as businesses find different models for making money through the web, accessibility can and will play a part.

As an aside, with Google's purchase of YouTube, I would love to see them put their "Do no evil" mantra to work and start making YouTube more accessible with captioning.