10 Jul 2003 | Accessibility
Jonathan Webdale [New Media Age]
The Royal National Institute for the Blind is bringing the UK's first case against companies under the Disability Discrimination Act for failing to make their Web sites accessible to people with a visual impairment.
The move, which comes during the European Year of Disability, is a watershed in the development of online services in this country.
Although the RNIB can't release details of its action, digital development officer Julie Howell confirmed it's supporting several individuals in discrimination claims against a number of companies.
'We've brought cases against a number of firms but I can't say what stage we're at,' she said.
Howell said RNIB's procedures for tackling issues brought to its attention didn't automatically result in legal action, but the DDA had armed it with the power to support individuals in taking such action.
Industry observers have been anticipating a DDA Web accessibility test case for some time and the RNIB, a leading campaigner on the issue, has made no secret of its willingness to be involved.
Earlier this year the Disability Rights Commission said it was launching an investigation into 1,000 UK sites (NMA 4 April).
The DRC last year published a code of practice that made explicit reference to online services, saying that site operators failing to take disabled users into account would be in breach of the DDA.