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A First Look at the Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act Bill

The “Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act” (or #A11yAct) has been put forward to the United States Congress. If it succeeds, it will build on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Its aim is to lead to clearer regulations for digital accessibility requirements in the US. Here, Ben Myers looks at it from a web developer’s perspective. He opens with a disclaimer that he’s not a lawyer. For a legal perspective, read “Proposed web and software accessibility legislation introduced in United States Congress“.

Ben summarises the bottom line for us:

• Websites and apps will need to be accessible, period – no longer any need to demonstrate a link to a physical, bricks-and-mortar place (an idea called “nexus”).
• Regulations would be updated every three years.
• It’s not a silver bullet, but it will give disabled users more recourse against inaccessible products.

Ben then gives a short history of the ADA and why new legislation is necessary. One issue is the idea of ‘nexus’, and another is that it did not keep up with the times, but the main issue is ambiguity. The lack of published regulations means individual courts are left to interpret the act, leading to inconsistent outcomes in accessibility lawsuits.

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