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It is estimated that 4%-8% of Internet users are persons with disabilities. A Harris poll survey found that Americans with disabilities spend twice as much time on the Internet as those without disabilities. This number is expected to rise significantly as the baby boomers age. Many people around you have disabilities, although you may not be aware of their low vision, color blindness, mental or emotional capabilities or movement problems. The Web Accessibility Initiative has its basis in the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, Section 508:
- “Federal agencies must develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technologies and that this technology must be accessible to government employees with disabilities”.
- “Members of the public who have disabilities must be able to gain access to the information or services offered by each agency”.
- “Electronic and information technology is understood to include Web pages”.
Federally run Web sites must be designed according to accessibility guidelines and also that vendors (contractors, sub-contractors) must follow these guidelines in order for their services to be procured.
TEC offers courses in 508 compliance.
The federal government is very serious about these laws and are requiring that all federal office fill out a lengthy 508 survey and return them to the Department of Justice. Additionally litigation is moving forward:
From 1998 to 2002 Access Now, a disability advocacy organization, has filed more than 440 ADA lawsuits in courts across the country, and is now targeting Internet sites. Many disability rights groups are also following suit:
Nov. 4, 2003 - Ten national disability rights groups are filing a friend-of-the-court brief today in Miami urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to ensure that the World Wide Web is accessible to persons with disabilities. This brief stemmed from lawsuits filed against Southwest and American Airlines over the in-accessibility of their websites.
During the 2001 and 2002 Access Now has sued bookseller Barnes & Noble and retailer Claire's Stores for maintaining Web sites that allegedly violated the ADA. Both cases settled.
April 2000, the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) filed an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit against the Connecticut Attorney General's Office, which provided links to four inaccessible online tax filing services on its Internal Revenue Service's official Web site. The four tax filing services (Intuit, HDVest, H&R Block and CioCia) voluntarily agreed to begin making their Web sites accessible to the sight-impaired in time for the next tax season.
March 2000, an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) agreement was reached between the California Council for the Blind and Bank of America to install 2,500 talking Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in Florida and California and to ensure its Web sites and online banking services are accessible to people using screen-readers.
November 1999, the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) filed an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit against America Online (AOL) after AOL failed to alter its inaccessible software to allow compatibility with screen readers. According to an agreement on July 26, 2000, between the NFB and AOL, AOL will continue its existing efforts to ensure that the next version of AOL's software (AOL 6.0) is compatible with screen reader assistive technology which makes it accessible to blind users. AOL plans to release the new AOL 6.0 software in fall 2000.
Internationally, in 1999 a blind Australian user lodged a complaint against the Sydney Organizing
Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). On 24 August 2000, the courts ordered a decision and supported
Maguire’s complaint, ordering certain access provisions to be in place on the Olympics.com site by 15
September 2000. SOCOG ignored the ruling and was subsequently fined $20,000
.
