[NFBMO] NFB Washington Seminar Factsheet On The Web Site And Software Applications Accessibility Act

Mon Jan 9 22:25:15 UTC 2023

Websites and Software 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 307 million Americans use the internet,  and 81 percent of
Americans say that they access the internet at least once each day.  That
means that nearly the entire country is accessing websites and mobile
applications every day. However, 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-one million Americans who
currently have a disability.  This means that millions of disabled Americans
are using 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.  After that initial announcement, the Department of
Justice failed to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking, and by extension,
final regulations. Without these final regulations in place, blind and
disabled Americans face significant difficulty in electronically accessing
businesses, applying for jobs, or working due to the barrier of website
inaccessibility.

The past few years have seen a significant increase in the prevalence of
so-called "click-by" lawsuits. Many businesses are required by law to make
their websites accessible but 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.  The number of lawsuits has been increasing steadily since 2013,
when the figure was first tracked.  Businesses yearn for a clear definition
of website accessibility and to be able to expand their potential customer
pool to consumers they were not reaching before.

Solution--Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act will:

Direct the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) to promulgate accessibility regulations. The DOJ and EEOC
will have twelve months following the enactment of the legislation to issue
a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding website and mobile application
accessibility, then an additional twelve months to issue the final rule. 

Establish a comprehensive statutory definition for "accessibility." A
comprehensive and clear-cut definition of "accessibility" will end any
confusion regarding the requirements that covered entities and commercial
providers need to meet. 

Establish a technical assistance center to provide technical assistance to
covered entities, commercial providers, and individuals with disabilities.
The technical assistance centers aid in the construction, development,
design, alteration, and modification of websites in accordance with the
rules. The Attorney General, the Commission, the Secretary of Education will
award a grant program to a qualified technical assistance provider to
support the development, establishment, and procurement of accessible
websites and applications. 

Ensure that accessibility regulations keep pace with new and emerging
technologies. A periodic review of the regulations is required and the DOJ
and EEOC are required to update the regulations if necessary. 

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

Cosponsor the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act.

To cosponsor, the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act,
contact:

Stephanie DeLuca, Legislative Assistant for Senator Duckworth (D-IL)

Phone: 202-224-2854/ Email: stephanie_deluca at duckworth.senate.gov

To cosponsor the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act,
contact:

Katie Teleky, Legislative Director for Representative Sarbanes (D-MD)

Phone: 202-225-4016/ Email: kathleen.teleky at mail.house.gov

For more information, contact:

Jeff Kaloc, Government Affairs Specialist, National Federation of the Blind
Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2206 - Email: jkaloc at nfb.org
<mailto:jkaloc at nfb.org> 

[1] Statista. "Countries with the highest number of internet users as of
January 2022." July 2022.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/262966/number-of-internet-users-in-selec
ted-countries/

[1] 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-almo
st-constantly/

[1] 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 2019." Compiled by Cornell University.
https://www.disabilitystatistics.org/reports/acs.cfm?statistic=1

[1] 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/nondiscrimin
ation-on-the-basis-of-disability-accessibility-of-web-information-and-servic
es-of-state

[1] 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-fo
r-federal-ada-title-iii-lawsuits/

[1] Ibid.

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