By: Gabriella Rabaa
Self-service kiosks have fundamentally changed how businesses operate and become more common in various public places like airports, grocery stores, fast-food restaurants, and storefronts. As the automated machines continue to rise in popularity, it's now more important than ever to ensure these devices are accessible and usable to people who are blind, Deafblind, or have low vision. 
This summer, Accessibility Standards Canada and the CSA Group launched a public review process to update the joint standard CSA/ASC B651.2, which sets out accessible design requirements for self-service kiosks and automated banking machines.
In June, the Consumer Access Group (CAG)—a coalition of disability advocacy organizations including CNIB, the Canadian Council of the Blind, and the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC)—held three joint focus groups to gather feedback from the community about how the Standard could be strengthened. Approximately 50 individuals participated in these discussions and provided valuable information to help guide and develop CAG's joint submission to the CSA Group consultation. The final submission will be available on the Consumer Access Group website in August.
Once the public feedback period is closed, the Technical Committee will consider each suggestion and prepare the final updated version of the Standard.
Thank you to all those who participated in our focus group sessions! If you want to get involved in CNIB's future regulatory affairs work, email advocacy@cnib.ca to be notified of new opportunities. Or, if you want to participate independently, visit ASC's website to learn about current and upcoming standards in development.