There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act), which will ensure that websites are accessible to blind and disabled users. Try to find specific information about it on the Internet and chances are you'll come up empty handed.
The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and the DRC (Disability Rights Commission), two of the most renowned advocates for the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) and accessible websites, have no specific information about the laws and what websites specifically need to do in order to meet the legal requirements.
So, what does the law state?
Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act refers to the provision of goods, facilities and services. The Code of Practice, which specifically mentions websites, can be downloaded in its entirety from the DRC website (http://www.drc-gb.org/open4all/law/Code%20of%20Practice.pdf 676kb).
The relevant quotes from this 175-page document are:
2.2 (p7): "The Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public."
4.7 (p39): "From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services."
2.13 ? 2.17 (p11-13): "What services are affected by the Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act."
5.23 (p71): "For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include ... accessible websites."
5.26 (p68): "For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include ... accessible websites. " When does the law come into force?
It's widely believed that the new laws will be implemented in October of this year, when the final part of the DDA comes into force. This final piece of legislation actually refers to service providers having to consider making permanent physical adjustments to their premises and is not related to the Internet in any way.
The law about accessible websites came into force on 1st October 1999 (http://www.drc-gb.org/open4all/law/code.asp) and the Code of Practice for this section of the Act was published on 27th May 2002 (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20020720.htm). This means that the majority of websites are already in breach of the law.
Can you be sued?
Well, probably. The RNIB claim that they've considered taking up a number of legal cases against organisations with regard to their websites. When they raised the accessibility issues of the website under the DDA, companies have typically made the necessary changes, rather than facing the prospect of legal action.
The DRC has now published their findings from their formal investigation into 1000 websites. (http://www.drc-gb.org/publicationsandreports/2.pdf). If your website was included then you will have to start thinking about making it accessible to all web users in the very near future.
What do you need to do to comply?
It's widely believed that if, or perhaps more appropriately when, a case makes it to court that the W3C accessibility guidelines will be used to assess a website's accessibility and ultimately decide the outcome of the case. The W3C is the Internet governing body and its web accessibility guidelines can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html.
To further complicate matters, the W3C offers three different levels of compliance. Priority 1 guidelines, (which must be satisfied according to the W3C) will almost certainly have to be adhered to. Priority 2 guidelines (which should be satisfied and are the EU recommended level of compliance (http://www.disabilityworld.org/09-10_02/access/internetaccess.shtml), or some part of, will probably also need to be adhered to too.
The courts will also no doubt take guidance from the outcome of an Australian case in 2000, when a blind man successfully sued the Sydney Olympics organising committee over their inaccessible website (http://www.contenu.nu/socog.html).
This article was written by Trenton Moss. He's crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.
executive chauffeured services Bradford .. Madison to Airport carI recently received an unsolicited e-mail from some company offering... Read More
After having decided to start a business, the next thing... Read More
Did you know that hosting companies overcrowd their servers despite... Read More
When I set up my website I felt paypal was... Read More
An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More
Everyday thousands of new businesses make the leap and take... Read More
1. Upload robots.txt file in to your root directory and... Read More
Creating a content management system either from scratch,... Read More
Have you ever wondered what challenges are faced by other... Read More
Go to any internet marketing forum you want these days... Read More
We all start out the same. Some have budgets, some... Read More
Any new website competing on the internet, needs to take... Read More
A website is lifeline of internet home business. In order... Read More
Starting a business online is no longer as difficult as... Read More
Webmasters deal with a myriad of complex design challenges every... Read More
What to do if you are an artist after you... Read More
Profiles are one of the best kept secrets around regarding... Read More
"Build it and they will come."--Filed of Dreams (1989) If... Read More
While creating a Web site may seem like... Read More
Directory Generator, a product from Armand Morin and Marc Quarles,... Read More
The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must... Read More
If one more business owner tells me their website sucks... Read More
To the starting internet entrepreneur, there is nothing more discouraging... Read More
Before you jump into spending coutnless hours on designing and... Read More
SummaryHere's the scoop on what you must know when designing... Read More
O'Hare Chicago prom limo ..You don't believe in astrology but you check your horoscope... Read More
We've all seen those messages on some websites warning not... Read More
Many websites I come across don't have a single link... Read More
Like wine cars get more attractive to collectors as years... Read More
Are you, like many other website owners, frustrated at the... Read More
Globalize Your WebsiteThe Internet has unlocked a wide array of... Read More
When you started reading this sentence you assumed lo acabar?a... Read More
Internet Marketing is not a miracle marketing strategy ? competition... Read More
Many executives and investors are skeptical that software products can... Read More
How do you decide on the content, products and or... Read More
Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data... Read More
We all start out the same. Some have budgets, some... Read More
Project Safekids provides webmasters a valuable tool which could save... Read More
The first thing my business consultant (read brother-in-law) asked me,... Read More
Thousands of people are now making a living online and... Read More
1. Choose a big enough font size. A size 12... Read More
A system development process can follow a number of standard... Read More
It is an undeniable fact that not everybody is keen... Read More
Even though the Internet has been around for a long... Read More
Understanding and using web analytics.In recent years, website marketers were... Read More
Making money with your web site is the dream and... Read More
You have seen those web pages where they have the... Read More
This is a growing concern amongst many business owners. Does... Read More
While most marketers are beginning to understand the critical importance... Read More
Web accessibility has so many benefits that I really do... Read More
Web Development |