the united states is fucking retarded
September 08, 2006 12:04 PM US Eastern Timezone
Federal Court Rules Online Businesses Must Comply with ADA; Mindshare Interactive Campaigns Advises Accessibility Audits
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 8, 2006--A new federal ruling issued yesterday raises the bar for online businesses, requiring them to meet the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act just as offline business have been required to do since the law's passage in 1990.
Mindshare Interactive Campaigns, LLC advises all businesses and organizations, which offer goods or provide services through websites or interactive means, to conduct accessibility audits of their online practices to see whether they might be in jeopardy as a result of this week's federal appeals court ruling.
"What this means is that any place of business that provides services, such as the opportunity to buy products on a website, is now, a place of accommodation and therefore falls under the ADA," said Kathy Wahlbin, Mindshare's Director of User Experience and expert on accessibility. "The good news is that being compliant is not difficult nor is it expensive. And it provides the additional benefit of making accessible web sites easier for search engines to find and prioritize."
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled yesterday that a retailer may be sued if its website is inaccessible to the blind. The ruling was issued in a case brought by the National Federation of the Blind against Target Corp. The suit charges that Target's website is inaccessible to the blind and therefore violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act.
Mindshare's Kathy Wahlbin has more than 10 years experience consulting with clients using technology for business improvement. She has won awards for design and implementation of accessible Web sites from Knowbility's Accessible Internet Rally (AIR). As the Director of User Experience Services, she uses accessibility as a cornerstone to effect change.
Mindshare Interactive Campaigns (www.mindshare.net) helps organizations leverage the communication opportunities created by technology. Since 1997, we have worked around the world with many of the leading corporations, associations, non-profit organizations and governmental entities to accomplish complex objectives. Mindshare's award-winning efforts have set the standard for innovation, creativity, and results.
short and sweet : if a blind person can't access your website and use it for its intended purpose, you're now in violation of some dumb ass act the federal court passed today.
ROzbeans
19 years ago
How the hell do you get braille on the internet?
Prosecution
19 years ago
Hmm.... but does the law apply to corporate sites hosted on forgein servers. The answer is, no. So I see a lot of US businesses hosting on forgein servers if this really doesn't collapse under appeal. Really. Quite retarded.
Verileah
19 years ago
Blind people often use screen readers like JAWS (http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/software_jaws.asp) and a pair of headphones.
This has been a standard for government websites for a while now. http://www.section508.gov/
There are a boatload of different 'checkers' one could run on their website and/or the W3C has requently updated accessibility requirements via an RSS feed. Maybe it's a pain in the ass and not as easy as the article makes it out to be. But it grants people with disabilities equal access to goods and services bought and sold in this country.
This has been a standard for government websites for a while now. http://www.section508.gov/
There are a boatload of different 'checkers' one could run on their website and/or the W3C has requently updated accessibility requirements via an RSS feed. Maybe it's a pain in the ass and not as easy as the article makes it out to be. But it grants people with disabilities equal access to goods and services bought and sold in this country.
Verileah
19 years ago
Why would this cave under appeal? This is a long time in coming and the only surprise to me is that it didn't happen sooner. In any case, even if it does crumble under appeal it's -still- a smart business decision to comply with accessibility standards and now hopefully more people will be aware of what those are.
Den
19 years ago
It is a good idea, especially for larger corporations that do have the ability to comply.
Further, as far as smaller 'mom and pop' net operations, I don't think this would apply, any more than it does in the case of making your rl store handicap accessible. I believe if your company only employs a small number of people, there is an exception to this law. I think it was originally intended for larger companies who wanted government contracts.
Further, as far as smaller 'mom and pop' net operations, I don't think this would apply, any more than it does in the case of making your rl store handicap accessible. I believe if your company only employs a small number of people, there is an exception to this law. I think it was originally intended for larger companies who wanted government contracts.
Vulash
19 years ago
Sounds like another great oppurtunity for some people to sue each other to me!
Vex
19 years ago
^ exactly.
target tried to settle out of court, but no, this guy is SUING TARGET even though they said they were going to fix the problem. how fucking lame right?
target tried to settle out of court, but no, this guy is SUING TARGET even though they said they were going to fix the problem. how fucking lame right?
Prosecution
19 years ago
No, its retarded because its scope is not that limited. In theory this site could be shut down because it provides a service (signatures and a community meeting place) and is not in compliance with ADA. If they wanted to make a point about accessibility then they would have gone after the browser providers. Netscape/Firefox/Opera/IE. Those are the people who are non-compliant. They should have easy to use plug-ins for those people who are visully disabled. Going after the company does not solve the problem simply because the actual interface to use the web is done through a web browser. Target has no control over this, or for that matter, the internet. For lack of a better pun. Legitimate complaint. Wrong Target. Go after the companies who control the interface which provides you access to the wealth of information called the internet, not the company which just posts the information.
Mylec
19 years ago
I dont think it is lame for him to file a suit. What I think IS lame is when a dozen citizens sit on a jury and decide to award someone an obscene amount of money in such civil suits. If morons wouldn't award 8 bafuckingillion dollars to everyone who sues, it would stop happening.
Vex;69039
^ exactly.
target tried to settle out of court, but no, this guy is SUING TARGET even though they said they were going to fix the problem. how fucking lame right?
I dont think it is lame for him to file a suit. What I think IS lame is when a dozen citizens sit on a jury and decide to award someone an obscene amount of money in such civil suits. If morons wouldn't award 8 bafuckingillion dollars to everyone who sues, it would stop happening.
Vulash
19 years ago
I think both are lame. I have more morals then to sue poeple over stupid shit that I know is wrong - even if doing so would make me rich. I expect others to have the same type of character, and I'm grossly dissappointed daily. Maybe that is why I'm a cynical fuck.