Accessibility Bulletin Week 47 – website accessibility is a growing issue

21 Nov 2019 | Accessibility

Adam Turner
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This week we take a look at the progress UK Central Government organisations are making towards web site compliance, as well as what can be done to comply with the laws.

As always 5 of the best articles we have seen are listed below with summaries and links to the full articles:

  • GLOBAL | Is it Time to Prioritize Making Websites and Mobile Apps Accessible

    JD Supra featured a nice summary of the Domino’s case written by Akerman LLP. 

    Companies should take steps to ensure that their websites and mobile apps are accessible to persons who are blind or vision impaired, based on the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to review an appellate court decision that allowed a blind man to sue a national pizza chain under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/is-it-time-to-prioritize-making-12157/  

  • GLOBAL | Demonstrating ongoing accessibility adjustment

    Being able to demonstrate ongoing improvement in Accessibility can be helpful to mitigate the impact of any lawsuits.

    In recent years, delivering digital accessibility to a high standard has become a regulatory requirement in a wide range of fields, such as in the US airline industry. However, as many organisations are still failing on this front, there are an increasing number of individuals, particularly in the US, who are taking these issues to the courts and suing non-compliant companies.

    https://sitemorse.com/news/2018/03/26/using-sitemorse-demonstrate-ongoing-accessibility-adjustment/   

  • UK | How is UK Central Government progressing with website accessibility

    UK Central Government organisations may be interested to see the progress they are making with ensuring their websites comply with accessibility laws and how much more they need to do.

    Sitemorse published it’s Q4 INDEX for UK Central Government earlier this week. 90% of central government organisations have not improved their accessibility since the last quarter’s INDEX. Only 4 organisations scored 7 or above (out of 10) and 65% scored less that 5. UK central government organisations have until 22 September 2020 to make their websites compliant with the law – new websites needed to be compliant from 22 September 2019.

    Recent clarification from the Digital Cabinet Office is that all new content should be compliant needs to be compliant from 22 September 2019. 

    https://sitemorse.com/blog-article/9593/uk-central-government-websites-whats-happening-with-accessibility/ 

  • AU | Companies still fail on online accessibility

    Accessibility barriers stop people with a disability doing the most ordinary activities that other people do day-to-day - in Australia food delivery apps are failing to comply fully with the WCAG 2.0 standards and the companies risk excluding people.

    Australian versions of Deliveroo, UberEats, and Domino’s applications and web sites do not yet fully comply with WCAG 2.0, although all of these companies have said they are continuing to improve their digital accessibility and already offer some assistive features.

    https://which-50.com/cover-story-companies-still-fail-on-online-accessibility-even-as-new-challenges-emerge/

  • UK | How to comply with the UK’s new public sector web accessibility laws

    Too often people with disabilities face digital exclusion because of the unnecessary barriers that stop them accessing essential information and services through public sector websites.

    A lawsuit against Domino’s Pizza over whether its website and mobile app comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act may be the highest-profile case involving commercial digital compliance, but it’s not alone.

    https://www.localgov.co.uk/How-to-comply-with-the-UKs-new-public-sector-web-accessibility-laws/48161