About Accessibility Laws
In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology available to people with various disabilities. This amendment, called Section 508, was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.
In January 2001, the U.S. government stipulated that all government Web sites must comply with Section 508 Standards by June 21, 2001. Anyone with a disability who does not have "comparable access to and use of information and data" on a Federal agency website after this date may file a complaint or civil action against the Federal department or agency that has not complied.
Providing access to people with disabilities is not just required by government websites. In 1996 the Department of Justice ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to the Web, not just to places that can be accessed physically. A retailer whose website doesn't meet ADA standards can be sued under the Act, just as a brick-and-mortar store can.
This legislation, largely overlooked by web content providers since its inception, has become increasingly relevant to many content providers, partly due to recent high-profile lawsuits filed by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) against content providers such as AOL.
Why Comply?
There are four primary reasons that content providers should accommodate visitors with disabilities:
- People with disabilities who visit your website generate revenue.
Content providers vastly underestimate the handicapped market. Online shopping and services are very important, especially to people who often can't drive or face other difficulties shopping in a brick-and-mortar environment. Companies that fail to reach this market are losing out on a powerful source of revenue and a key demographic of loyal repeat-customers. - Reach a larger audience.
One in five Americans has a disability, and as the country ages that percentage is expected to increase. People with disabilities span ethnic, economic and geographic boundaries; failing to provide access to this diverse and numerous segment of the American population is contrary to the interests of anyone providing online content or services. - It's the law.
Failure to take reasonable steps to provide access to web content for visitors with disabilities is a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Content providers who do not comply with this law may be subject to costly lawsuits that invariably lead to the revision of the web content to meet Section 508 standards. - It's
not that difficult.
Many Web content providers don't provide access for people with disabilities because they believe that the cost of updating their site to bring it "up to code" is prohibitive, or that their website's visual appeal will suffer adversely from the changes. This is simply untrue. Compared with potential revenues generated by visitors with disabilities, the cost of revamping Web content to meet Section 508 standards is insignificant and need not interfere with the site's appearance at all.
How To Meet Requirements
The best way for Web content providers to meet ADA requirements is to comply with Section 508 standards. The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the technology arm of the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (the Access Board), has created a set of specific standards used to assess a website's compliance with Section 508. These standards are set forth in a document called the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template, or VPAT.