[stylist] FW: Victory in Scribd case: internet-based companies must comply with the ADA

[Jacobson, Shawn D]

Donna

In deed, this is excellent news.

Shawn

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Applebutter Hill via stylist
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2015 9:28 PM
To: 'Writers' Division Mailing List'
Subject: [stylist] FW: Victory in Scribd case: internet-based companies must comply with the ADA

Hello Friends,
As many of you know, I did a little consulting, PR and writing about the online subscription library Scribd, which is inaccessible to authors and readers with print disabilities. NFB filed a law suit against them last summer. The following is from a deaf-blind lawyer at the firm Disability Rights Advocates and is hot off the presses. I think it's a landmark decision which will hopefully have long term benefits for those of us seeking online access.
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: Haben Girma [mailto:habengirma at gmail.com]
Sent: Friday, March 20, 2015 9:14 PM
Subject: Victory in Scribd case: internet-based companies must comply with the ADA


Dear Friends,

I'm pleased to share exciting news: yesterday, March 19, 2015, Judge William K. Sessions III issued a beautifully written opinion holding that companies providing services through websites and apps must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed a lawsuit last year in the U.S.
District Court for the District of Vermont against San Francisco-based Scribd, Inc. for failing to design its website and apps in a manner accessible to blind readers. Rather than providing access to blind readers who want to read the more than 40 million books and documents in the Scribd collection, Scribd moved to dismiss the case alleging that the ADA exempts businesses that operate exclusively online.

Confirming what DRA, NFB, and other advocates have argued, the Court ruled on March 19th that the ADA does indeed cover online businesses. "Now that the internet plays such a critical role in the personal and professional lives of Americans, excluding disabled persons from access to covered entities that use it as their principal means of reaching the public would defeat the purpose of this important civil rights legislation," the Court wrote.

The Court's ruling signals to online businesses the importance of designing websites and apps for accessibility. The decision impacts all entities that conduct business in Vermont over the Internet, and just about every online business has customers in Vermont. Through this case, Disability Rights Advocates works to change attitudes about accessibility not only at Scribd, but throughout the digital services industry. We hope companies will feel inspired to make their services accessible after reading the Court's decision.

Advocates around the country celebrate the Court's confirmation that the ADA applies to online businesses. Only one other court has held that the ADA covers virtual businesses, National Association of the Deaf v. Netflix, Inc.
Together, the Scribd and Netflix decisions promise Americans with disabilities that the ADA's protections apply to services over the Internet.

A copy of our client NFB's press release and the Court's opinion is here:
http://dralegal.org/pressroom/press-releases/dra-achieves-victory-in-scribd-
case-internet-based-companies-must-comply.

Hope you will celebrate this weekend!

Best,
Haben=



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