A Poorly Designed Website Can Get You Sued?
If you’ve been paying attention to the news lately, you’ve likely heard about about the recent Class Action Lawsuit against Target by The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and BJ Sexton, a blind California Student. The suit was approved by judge Marilyn Hall Patel recently, but she threw out part of the NFB lawsuit. Although, this ruling doesn’t provide that all Web sites are required to be ADA accessible, it is a big towards ADA regulations being applied the internet.
The basis of the suit states that Target.com is discriminatory to blind users that access the site using reading software to vocalize hidden text on the page. The main complaints: alt tags missing on images, purchases are unable to be completed without a mouse, missing headings needed to navigate the site, and that image maps are inaccessible.
This isn’t the first time ADA regulations have been pushed online. In 2002, Southwest Airlines faced a similar suit from a blind Florida resident. This will be an interesting argument and case to watch. The Target case involves printable coupons not accessible to the blind and the inability to navigate store locator’s thus denying a disabled persons full enjoyment of services/goods of a covered accommodation. Disability Rights Advocates representing the NFB states: “If a pure internet business looked at this case and said ‘we’re off the hook’, they’re greatly mistaken.”
So what does this mean to businesses in general? Creating a Web site that is SEO friendly will likely improve your accessibility to all users, disabled or not. Vocalization software used by the blind is similar to search engine bots that index Web sites. Both are programs that have limitations that visual users do not, so designing your site to be “search engine friendly” should also help to provide access to disabled users.
There are two sides to this case and we should try and evaluate both sides. This case could open the floodgates for future lawsuits and may push socialist agendas on a capitalist society. In my opinion the potential for increased revenue by servicing all possible customers, being non-discriminant, and the potential negative PR should all out-weight the opposing viewpoint.
