The United States: Working Hard Against the Rights of the Blind

If you're a US citizen, you may want to register some outrage today with the Obama Administration (which, I think most of you know, I generally support with great enthusiasm).

Here's why: The United States along with the other Big Rich Nations, is busy opposing a treaty introduced yesterday at the World Intellectual Property Organization. The treaty would help blind and reading-impaired people gain access to reading material (audio, braille, large-print and other expensive-to-produce formats). The opposition, as far as I can tell, is from the "content" industries.

Cory Doctorow, one of the world's great defenders of freedom of information, has the whole scoop.

There's a Twitterfeed you can follow too.

Here's what I posted on Whitehouse.gov. Feel free to borrow. Anyone know a more targeted way to protest? Let me know.

I'm appalled and disappointed that the US has opposed a treaty that would secure the access of blind and reading-impaired people to reading material, at the World Intellectual Property Organization last night in Geneva.

Doesn't the US have better things to do right now than defend the coffers of a few rich and scared publishing conglomerates? Please, Mr President, withdraw our country's opposition to this treaty and sign on.