Food startup Eatsa sued for not making kiosks accessible to blind

[March 24, 2017]  (Reuters) - Fast food startup Eatsa is being sued by disability rights advocates for not including accessibility features for the blind.

Customers order meals on tablets and pick up food from cubbies at Eatsa, a restaurant in the financial district of San Francisco, California, U.S., September 28, 2016. REUTERS/Peter Henderson

Eatsa lets customers order from tablets and pick up their food minutes later from cubicles, eliminating the need for front-of-the-restaurant staff.

The suit claims that although the technology to make touchscreens and self-service food pick-up usable for blind and low-vision customers is available, the restaurant chain has neglected to add these features.

Disability Rights Advocates, a nonprofit organization, filed the suit claiming that the negligence is a civil rights violation. http://bit.ly/2nXTPxC

The case is in U.S. Civil Court, Southern District of New York, Case no-02096.

Eatsa and Disability Rights Advocates were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Parikshit Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Sunil Nair)

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