[NFBF-Melbourne] FW: [NFBF-Leaders] Fact Sheets for 2022 NFB Washington Seminar - 4 of 4 - 21st Century Websites and Applications Accessibility Act

Wed Jan 19 03:26:36 UTC 2022

For your information.

Sincerely, 

Camille Tate 

President, Melbourne Space Coast Chapter, National Federation of the Blind
of Florida 

2nd Vice President, National Federation of the Blind of Florida 

Phone: 321 372 4899 

From: NFBF-Leaders <nfbf-leaders-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Russell
Davis via NFBF-Leaders
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 10:23 PM
To: nfbf-l at nfbnet.org; nfbf-leaders at nfbnet.org
Cc: Russell Davis <russell at radiorusty.com>
Subject: [NFBF-Leaders] Fact Sheets for 2022 NFB Washington Seminar - 4 of 4
- 21st Century Websites and Applications Accessibility Act

Hello everyone,

I learned that this previous sent email never made it out of my computer. I
think I have corrected the outbox issues and am going to try and send this
info to you again.

Please forgive any duplicate emails with this subject and attachment.

Sincerely,

Russ

Hello again everyone,

Please see attached the 21st Century Websites and Applications Accessibility
Act fact sheet in Microsoft Word format.

For your convenience, I've also pasted the text of the fact sheet to the
bottom of this email.

Please take the time to review the fact sheet as it will provide you with
valuable information about this bill.

Thanks so much for all you are doing to help move forward our mission and
our legislative efforts.

Respectfully,

Russ Davis,

Legislative Director, National Federaton of the Blind of Florida

Ph. 904-993-8433

Email: Russell at radiorusty.com <mailto:Russell at radiorusty.com> 

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY WEBSITES & APPLICATIONS ACCESSIBILITY ACT

Issue-Websites are required by law to be accessible, but without
implementing regulations, most businesses and retailers have little
understanding of what accessible means.

Websites and mobile applications are an essential part of modern living.
More than 313 million Americans use the internet,[i] and 81 percent of
Americans say that they access the internet at least once each day.[ii] The
need to access websites and mobile applications doesn't stop when it reaches
Americans with disabilities. According to the American Community Survey,
conducted by the United States Census Bureau, there are approximately forty
million Americans who currently have a disability.[iii] Based on the numbers
above, it is more than reasonable to assume that the vast majority of them
are trying to use websites and mobile applications. 

The Department of Justice announced its intention to publish accessible
website regulations more than a decade ago. On July 26, 2010, the twentieth
anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the
government published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to address
website accessibility.[iv] After that initial announcement, no further
action was taken to substantially advance website accessibility. Without
regulations in place, blind and disabled Americans are not reliably able to
electronically access businesses, apply for jobs, and work at places due to
the barriers created by inaccessible websites and mobile applications.

The past few years have seen a significant increase in the prevalence of
so-called "click-by" lawsuits. Accessibility is readily achievable, but many
businesses that are required by law to make their websites accessible claim
to have no clear-cut definition of what "accessible" actually means.
Meanwhile, people with disabilities must cope with inaccessible websites.
ADA Title III lawsuits, which include website accessibility suits, hit
record numbers in 2019, topping 11,000 for the first time.[v] The number of
lawsuits has been increasing steadily since 2013, when the figure was first
tracked.[vi] Businesses yearn for a clear definition of accessibility
standards and to be able to expand their potential customer pool to
consumers they were not reaching before. 

Solution-Twenty-First Century Websites & Applications Accessibility Act
will:

Direct the US Access Board to promulgate accessibility guidelines. The US
Access Board will have six months following the enactment of the legislation
to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding website and mobile
application accessibility, then an additional six months to issue the final
rule. 

Promulgate guidelines that strive to harmonize with Section 508 standards.
The Section 508 standards promulgated by the US Access Board on January 18,
2017, are established regulations for website and technology accessibility.
Therefore, the guidelines promulgated by the Access Board should harmonize
with these standards. 

Authorize the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission to investigate the accessibility of websites and mobile
applications. Either of its own volition or via a logged complaint
pertaining to inaccessibility, the Department of Justice and the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission will have the authority to investigate
accessibility concerns and commence civil action if necessary. 

GOAL-END WEBSITE AND MOBILE APPLICATION INACCESSIBILITY
FOR BLIND AMERICANS.

Cosponsor the Twenty-First Century Websites & Applications Accessibility Act
when introduced.

To cosponsor the Twenty-First Century Websites & Applications Accessibility
Act in the Senate, contact:

Alisa Winchester, Legislative Correspondent for Senator Duckworth (D-IL)

Phone: 202-224-2854

Email:  <mailto:alisa_winchester at duckworth.senate.gov>
alisa_winchester at duckworth.senate.gov

For more information, contact:

Jeff Kaloc, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind
Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2206

Email:  <mailto:jkaloc at nfb.org> jkaloc at nfb.org
 <http://www.nfb.org/> www.nfb.org

  _____  

  _____  

  _____  

[i] Statista. "Countries with the highest number of internet users as of
December 2019." June 2020.
<https://www.statista.com/statistics/262966/number-of-internet-users-in-sele
cted-countries/>
https://www.statista.com/statistics/262966/number-of-internet-users-in-selec
ted-countries/  

[ii] Andrew Perrin & Madhu Kumar. "About three-in-ten U.S. adults say they
are 'almost constantly' online." July 25, 2019.
<https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/25/americans-going-online-alm
ost-constantly/>
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/07/25/americans-going-online-almo
st-constantly/ 

[iii] United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey. "The number of
non-institutionalized, male or female, all ages, all races, regardless of
ethnicity, with all education levels in the United States reported a
disability in 2018." Compiled by Cornell University.
<https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/acs.cfm?statistic=1>
https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/acs.cfm?statistic=1 

[iv] Federal Register. "Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability;
Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government
Entities and Public Accommodations." July 26, 2010.
<https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/07/26/2010-18334/nondiscrimi
nation-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-servi
ces-of-state>
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2010/07/26/2010-18334/nondiscrimin
ation-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-servic
es-of-state 

[v] Minh Vu, Kristina Launey, & Susan Ryan. "2019 Was Another
Record-Breaking Year for Federal ADA Title III Lawsuits." February 20, 2020.
<https://www.adatitleiii.com/2020/02/2019-was-another-record-breaking-year-f
or-federal-ada-title-iii-lawsuits/>
https://www.adatitleiii.com/2020/02/2019-was-another-record-breaking-year-fo
r-federal-ada-title-iii-lawsuits/ 

[vi] Ibid.

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