Last week, a new feature released by Twitterallows iOS users to create audio tweets.
And while many users have already tried the feature on devices , there are some who can't join in the fun, due to an important element that the company seems to have overlooked: accessibility.
Many criticized the platformfor not thinking about hearing-impaired users when it created this feature. Many online platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook, provide captions to ensure that people with disabilities can still access audio content posted on the site.
Twitter said this is an early version of audio tweets.
However, this tweet started a thread that revealed a larger problem for the company, as Twitter does not have an "official team" dealing with the issue of accessibility on the platform.
In response, Twitter software engineer Andrew Hayward revealed that those working on accessibility at the company are “volunteers.” He later clarified that the volunteers are actually paid employees of the company, but accessibility was not officially part of the job requirements of this informal group.
Since accessibility is not built into the rules taken into account when designing and creating a new feature, it is natural that it is missing from the new audio tweets feature.
A Twitter spokesperson told The Verge that the company plans to dedicate resources to focusing on accessibility for its products.
“We’re looking at how we can build a more dedicated team to focus on accessibility tools and support across all products,” Twitter said in a statement. “We made a mistake with audio Tweets, and we’re committed to making them better — making this feature more accessible, like all features in the future. We’re constantly reviewing both the functionality of our products and the internal processes that inform them. We’ll be reporting on progress in this area.”
With online content increasingly focused on audio thanks to podcasting, more accessibility issues are bound to arise. However, a company as large and established as Twitter should have no problem dedicating time and resources to making sure its platform is accessible to everyone.
