19 Feb 2021 | Accessibility Bulletin
Our weekly roundup of the media’s key articles on the topic of digital accessibility.
UK | How to Design for Accessibility
Of the UK population, 18% is impaired in some way (mostly age related) and about one third is temporarily impaired due to illness, injury or circumstance. On any day, that could include you and will include people you know.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/gel/guidelines/how-to-design-for-accessibility
UK | Designers, accessible web design is not a trend!
The word “trend” associates accessible design with something that is temporarily ‘in-vogue’, topical, or a box-ticking exercise, rather than a fundamental responsibility for designers to create usable and enjoyable products and interfaces for all users, regardless of their ability level.
https://www.thedrum.com/profile/rocketmill/news/hey-designers-accessible-web-design-is-not-a-trend
UK | leads the way in a ‘new age of accountability’ for social media
New rules to be introduced for tech firms that allow users to post their own content or interact. Firms failing to protect people face fines of up to ten per cent of turnover or the blocking of their sites and the government will reserve the power for senior managers to be held liable…
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-leads-the-way-in-a-new-age-of-accountability-for-social-media
UK | Accessibility of UK & IE University websites
The Sitemorse 2021 Q1 INDEX shows that many organisations still have some way to go to comply with the law, with only 3% websites scoring 7 or higher for accessibility. Perhaps more concerning is 96% of webpages tested failed the WCAG2.1 Level A tests and 47% failed the Level AA tests.
https://sitemorse.com/index/uk-ie-universities/2021-q1
US | Bill to Establish Web Accessibility Guidelines Fails to Pass
The bill would have amended the ADA to introduce mandatory notice periods to shield businesses from lawsuits…The bill would also have limited ADA coverage to only consumer-facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity.