This year Brazil reached the worst level of digital accessibility since 2019, according to a study carried out by Movimento Web Para Todos and the company Big Data Corp.
In 2022, only 0.46% of the 21 million websites analyzed in the survey are barrier-free for people with disabilities.
Furthermore, a survey by TIC Web Acessibilidade/Ceweb.br shows that only 0.7% of portals and pages under the gov.br domain (federal, state and municipal) are fully accessible.
The data show that the technology that boosted the banking of millions of Brazilians in the pandemic still needs to advance to be more inclusive.
Due to this lack of accessibility, journalist Carlos Viana had problems trying to use financial services. Viana is blind, which prevented him from using facial recognition systems. In this type of authentication, the user is usually instructed to place the face in a delimited area, such as a circle, square or rectangle.
The first case happened when he needed to pay bills and had the app blocked. He needed to contact the bank to gain access, but to no avail, he had to turn to someone else for help.
The second case occurred when trying to obtain financing. In addition to asking for recognition, the app asked him to blink his eyes. “How can someone who has had surgery to remove his eye blink?”
Viana would only be able to perform facial recognition if he was guided by the screen reader on how to position the face, an accessibility feature used on the cell phone, which did not happen.
For the journalist, today there is no justification for companies not to think about people with disabilities. “I felt completely left out, like they didn’t care about me.”
Sought, Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks) said in a note that banks must insert a biometric facial identification layer to each transaction in their applications by the end of the year. The entity also highlighted that the associated institutions have been developing actions to ensure that people with disabilities have access to their products and services.
The institution, however, did not specify what measures it will take, or whether the technology will be deployed in routine transactions for this group.
The current facial recognition system used by the Brazilian government’s gov.br application is also not accessible for blind and low vision people.
In a note, the Digital Government Secretariat, linked to the Ministry of Economy, said that the facial recognition mechanism is being modified.
“Accessibility functions for the blind in facial recognition, such as voice guidance, for example, should be re-implemented in 2022. These functionalities undergo accessibility validation and tests with people with disabilities.”
The secretariat also stated that the user of the federal government’s digital public services has alternatives to facial biometrics, by logging in to 1 of the 10 partner financial institutions.
Facial recognition can also pose a barrier for people with autism, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and dyslexia, for example. This is the case of researcher and specialist in digital accessibility Talita Pagani, who has autism and needed to renew a mandatory document for her company.
For practicality, Talita chose to do the process remotely. She received a link and needed to do facial recognition to validate a digital certificate.
“That’s when it all went wrong. The system didn’t recognize my face and didn’t clearly show what the problem was. It was making me very nervous.” The process triggered a crisis.
“It’s common for autistic people to be more attached to routines, objective and predictable information,” she says. “It was all very distressing and exhausting. In the end, I had to go in person to do this procedure and change my whole routine because the screen didn’t work and I had no alternative to get around the problem.”
For Reinaldo Ferraz, a specialist in digital accessibility at Ceweb.br (Center for Studies on Web Technologies at NIC.br), as with any emerging technology, facial recognition needs to address accessibility. “Variations in use and forms of recognition can bring serious barriers and impacts for people with disabilities.”
Reinaldo explains that the barriers could be solved following the accessibility guidelines of the W3C, the International Standards Development Consortium. According to him, there are specific documentation to make platforms, websites and applications accessible.
The Brazilian Inclusion Law, in force since 2016, requires accessibility on websites of companies with headquarters or commercial representation in the country or by government bodies, but the article that makes this determination has not yet received specific regulation in the country.
What to do when access doesn’t work
- Persons with disabilities must register that they faced a barrier to access a right — which is equivalent to a form of discrimination under Brazilian law
- It may ask for a solution or a “reasonable accommodation”. If not met, you must formalize complaints to those responsible for supervising the service —Banco Central, in the case of financial institutions, and Procon, for consumer relations
- Channels for reporting human rights violations are available via Dial 100, Ligue180, the Human Rights Brazil app and through the website ouvidoria.mdh.gov.br
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
