Digital media offers many opportunities for civic and cultural participation. This technology is not equally easy for everyone to use. Often, people with disabilities require accommodation, assistive technologies, or other forms of aid to make digital media accessible for them, but are unable to obtain them.
Restricted Access investigates digital media accessibility—the processes by which media is made usable by people with specific needs—and argues for creating access to enable greater participation in all forms of mediated culture. It argues that if digital media leads to opportunities for individuals to create and participate, but the technology only facilitates the participation of the privileged, then its progressive potential remains unrealized. The book demonstrates the importance of alternate uses, marginalized voices, and invisible innovations in the context of disability identities and asks for a rethink on digital media accessibility.