A lot has been said about the terrible impact of the DMCA on the disabled’s access to technology, but it bears repeating.

The DMCA makes it extremely difficult for the blind and hearing impaired to gain access to copy-righted content in formats that they can consume. You think that Netflix’ library is frustratingly limited? Imagine how inhibiting it must be to only be able to read works published in braille, or watch movies that have been audibly described?

The DMCA (and often DRM) prevents people who legally own content in one format to convert it into another.  Not only that, but the tools that would help them to do so, are also forbidden.

The software to jailbreak a device is one of these tools.

Two examples of how the disabled can benefit from full control of their devices: those with motor disabilities can change the default gestures to make apps easier to navigate. Those with vision issues can adjusting the hue of the display to reduce eye-strain using apps like f.lux. There are myriad other examples for the long tail of disabilities 

Preventing such usage is clear discrimination and puts the profits of large firms above the needs of a those who stand to gain tremendously from access to life enabling technologies.

The DMCA is a terrible piece of legislation and needs to be repealed or at the very least amended; this campaign is a clear step in that direction. Until we have better legislation, jailbreaking iOS7 is a critical stopgap toward ensuring the disabled can best use the devices they own.