Web Accessibility

Web accessibility provides for website design, tools and technologies that assist people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate and interact with online content. The goal of web accessibility is to make the Internet as inclusive as possible, which isn’t only good marketing–it’s a legal requirement. Any website used by a public audience must adhere with the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA Title III, Section 508), in meeting industry standards, which are often identified as the current Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Free widgets and plugins can meet some of the basic compliance objectives, (enlarged text, increasing contrast, etc.), but they are unlikely to maximize compliance and do not provide the documentation that demonstrates compliance.

  1. To view the compliance of a site, run a compliance scan with accessiBe (CLICK HERE). 
  2. UserWay provides a free widget that will help with compliance (CLICK HERE).
  3. Repeat the accessiBe scan after the UserWay widget is installed. If not compliant, consider accessiBe’s seven-day trail for a paid widget (CLICK HERE).

Web Accessibility Litigation

Lawsuits regarding website accessibility are increasing at a significant rate. From 2017 to 2022, the number of web accessibility lawsuits increased 300% to 3,255.1  These lawsuits represent only the tip of the iceberg of web accessibility litigation, as industry estimates are that at least 90% of lawsuits settled prior to litigation. Web accessibility litigation is a specialty for some law firms and plaintiffs. In 2021, 67% of all web accessibility lawsuits were filed by just five New York and California firms, while the top-filing plaintiffs filed 100+ lawsuits.2

A much bigger issue are ADA demand letters, which seek damages for website accessibility violations lieu of litigation. The Bureau of Internet Accessibility estimates that in just 2020, US business may have spent $3.3 billion in responding to ADA demand letters.3 One author of an ADA compliance book puts the cost of resolving ADA demand letters at $25,000 at a minimum.4 One major reason why web accessibility litigation is increasing is that so few sites are actively seeking to meet compliance standards, with estimates that only 10% of US Business sites meet accessibility standards.5

What is Compliance?

There are basically three levels of web accessibility. The first level incorporates widgets or plugins that improve website accessibility by offering basic required components. Many of these free tools are available from web accessibility companies, who estimate that they only achieve about 20% of compliance requirements.

The second level of web accessibility uses artificial intelligence (“AI”) to frequently scan the website, identify accessibility problems and mitigate the identified problems. Companies that provide these services also provide supporting documentation such as accessibility statements, certification and reports that demonstrate the website’s ongoing efforts to meet compliance requirements. AI mitigation is estimated to achieve between 90% to 95% compliance.

Achieving “full compliance” requires manual mitigation of identified compliance problems in addition to AI mitigation. Manual mitigation may be done “in-house” by web masters or web developers. Outside web accessibility companies also provide manual mitigation. Pricing for manual mitigation from web accessibility companies is often per hour and per website template. The initial cost of manual mitigation can be between $3,000 and $6,000 for a medium-sized website. Manual mitigation is an ongoing expense in addition to AI compliance. Even with “full compliance,” websites may get sued over allegations that either they really are not 100% compliance or that their mitigation efforts are not successful. Advocates in 2021 alleged that AI mitigation actually made websites less accessible for people with disabilities.6

What to do?

It may take significant time and resources to achieve and maintain web accessibility, but pursuing web accessibility compliance should not be ignored. If a website does not have any accessibility tools, consider adding one of the free widgets available while the problem is being researched and addressed. Then, move to a paid program with AI mitigation features that scan and mitigate problems. Periodically review the site scan and, if possible, either specifically address any lingering compliance issues or hire a company for manual mitigation. Taking active roll in addressing web accessibility should cause litigants to consider easier targets for demand letters and legal complaints, although there is no guarantees that accessibility complaints can be avoided.

Updates

Some good news for practices located in New York, as a judge dismisses an ADA complaint against a web-only coffee coffee company–but only “because the website was not associated with any physical location where goods and services are provided to the public” (CLICK HERE). Another judge supported the use of accessibility widgets to address ADA compliance in dismissing a case also in New York (CLICK HERE). 

  1. https://www.adatitleiii.com/2023/01/plaintiffs-set-a-new-record-for-website-accessibility-lawsuit-filings-in-2022/
  2. https://adasitecompliance.com/recap-2022-website-accessibility-lawsuits/
  3. https://www.igvinc.com/blog/lawsuit-for-website-accessibility/
  4. https://krisrivenburgh.medium.com/can-you-afford-25-000-website-accessibility-lawsuits-cost-money-21987cd913f3
  5. Userway demo meeting 5/10/2023.
  6. https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovation/blind-people-advocates-slam-company-claiming-make-websites-ada-compliant-n1266720