Web site accessibility law

Please note that this article is written to reflect UK law and is therefore intended for UK-based organisations. Please note that laws regarding Web site accessibility may vary in your own country.

It's usually fairly early on in a discussion about Web site accessibility that I'm asked about the law. In general, people are aware that there is 'some kind of law' but they're not sure if it's already in place, if it applies to them and what the chances are of them being sued.

People are, sadly, often more concerned about the law than they are about its underlying principles: that people with disabilities should have equal access to those things which able people take for granted. Once most people realise that there are no 'accessibility police' and that the Web is such a vast place that the chances of getting sued are remote, then their interest in Web site accessibility diminishes considerably.

It's a shame that we need legislation to ensure that people with disabilities are fairly catered for - but we do. It took legislation to ensure that ramps and lifts were fitted to public-access buildings. Looking back, most people now see this as reasonable. Hopefully, in a decade's time, people will look back on Web site accessibility in the same way.

In the meantime, as a Web site owner, it is useful to review the UK law which covers Web site accessibility, to fully understand your legal position.

Which UK law covers Web site accessibility?

It's called the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). Contrary to many people's beliefs (that this act is either recent or yet to come into force), the act was passed in 1995. However, different parts of it have been brought into force over time. For businesses and organisations which provide a service, the key points are:

• From December 1996: it is unlawful to treat disabled people less favourably than other people, for a reason related to their disability.
• From October 1999: organisations must make reasonable adjustments for disabled people, such as providing extra help or making changes to the way in which they provide their services.
• From October 2004: organisations must make reasonable adjustments to the physical features of their premises to overcome physical barriers to access.

So the DDA doesn't just cover Web sites?

No - it's a wide-ranging piece of legislation, designed to protect disabled people in employment, in their access to goods, facilities and services, in the management, buying or renting of land or property, and in education.

Is it true that the DDA doesn't even mention Web sites?

No. This is a misinterpretation. While the act itself only doesn't specifically mention Web sites, this is because the act applies to every service provided. However, accessible Web sites are specifically mentioned by name, in examples given of 'services' which should be accessible. Here are the key elements of the DDA, from a Web site accessibility perspective.

• "The Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person: by refusing to provide (or deliberately not providing) any service which it provides (or is prepared to provide) to members of the public."
• "From 1 October 1999, a service provider has had to take reasonable steps to: change a practice, policy or procedure which makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services"
• "Among the services which are covered are those provided to the public by local councils, Government departments and agencies, the emergency services, charities, voluntary organisations, hotels, restaurants, pubs, post offices, banks, building societies, solicitors, accountants, telecommunications and broadcasting organisations, public utilities (such as gas, electricity and water suppliers), national parks, sports stadia, leisure centres, advice agencies, theatres, cinemas, hairdressers, shops, market stalls, petrol stations, telesales businesses, places of worship, courts, hospitals and clinics. This list is for illustration only and does not cover all the services falling under the Act." One of the examples given for guidance of non-compliance is that of where: "an airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its Web site. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the Act."
• "The Act affects everyone concerned with the provision in the United Kingdom of services to the public, or to a section of the public, whether in the private, public or voluntary sectors. It does not matter if services are provided free (such as access to a public park) or in return for payment (for example, a meal in a restaurant)."
• "For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include..." "... accessible Web sites".
• "For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include..." "... accessible Web sites".

So, Web sites are clearly covered by the DDA. End of story. You can download the full Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Code of Practice (Adobe PDF file) from the Disability Rights Commissions' Web site.

What action can be taken against me if my Web site isn't accessible?

You can be sued by those disabled people who feel disadvantaged, by your Web site, on the basis of their disabilities. It's early days for accessibility law and not many legal actions have been taken, but that doesn't increase the possibility of 'getting away with it' should someone decide to sue. So far, the disabled community has chosen the (sensible) route of approaching those organisations which have inaccessible Web sites and discussing the issue sensibly. After all, the required outcome is to make the Web site accessible, not draw blood, so if an organisation responds reasonably, this is a good approach which avoids time-consulting and costly legal battles. If your Web site isn't properly accessible, and you're taken to court, make no mistake - it's highly unlikely that you'll win. Compliance with accessibility guidelines will be enforced and also it's likely that you'll have to pick up the bill for the legal action.

What are the chances of such legal action being taken?

It's really a matter of when, not if. However, it's more than likely that initial actions will be focused on larger e-commerce Web sites or Web services such as a search engines. It's also likely that these cases will be settled amicably, out of court, with the company in question fixing its site before legal costs escalate. This was the case with UK retailer tesco.com - which was approached by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), after several blind people had indicated that they wished to take legal action against tesco.com - because they could not properly navigate tesco.com or buy items from it. However, RNIB acted as a moderator and demonstrated to tesco.com that it was impossible for a blind person to find and buy goods on its Web site. Like many organisations, tesco.com had simply not been aware of the issues - and, once made aware, created an accessible version of its site. On-line orders via this site were so strong (around £13m per year) that the company has committed to making its main site accessible. Inaccessibility is usually a result of ignorance, rather than intent, and the goal of the disabled community is to gain access not get revenge, so any route which moves towards making a Web site accessible will generally be preferred. However, the law is able to enforce accessibility and award fines to those complainants who can demonstrate that they are disadvantaged.

How do you ensure that your Web site complies with the DDA?

The DDA doesn't specify in detail what makes a Web site accessible/inaccessible. But then again, it doesn't need to, since accessibility guidelines established World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) are likely to be used as the standard against which accessibility is measured.

There are three 'priority' levels of compliance, which roughly translate into things that you must do, things that you should do and things that you could do. In each, there is a mixture of items that are objective and unquestionable, and items that are subjective and need to be assessed. In legal terms, companies will have to comply with priority-one guidelines, and, in the EU, compliance to priority-two guidelines is the recommended level of accessibility. It has to be said that once you are making a site accessible to these levels, you might as well go the whole way.

In the UK, many companies use the Bobby testing tool to assess accessibility compliance - and mistakenly believe that 'Bobby' is itself the accessibility standard. Bobby actually tests for W3C compliance (or US Section 508 Guidelines for companies who also want to comply with the United States' accessibility laws).

If you have a site already, you can 'retrofit' accessibility into it and, depending on the site, can usually achieve a good level of accessibility. In many cases it is more effective to redevelop the site using more modern coding standards, as this will achieve full accessibility with a greater degree of future-proofing. Web pages developed using newer coding standards have additional benefits, such as being much smaller (these pages can load around 40%-60% faster) and being more search-engine friendly (much more of the page can be indexed and the page structure is better for indexing).

The bottom line

In the UK, making your Web site accessible is the law. That law is not vague, nor are the standards that will be used to apply it. If your Web site is not in compliance, then your company is exposed. (The fact that your company may be a less-likely candidate for legal action than others should not be a reason to ignore the issue.) Whether that exposure will result in legal action is, well, a matter of chance.

For older Web sites, retrofitting and redevelopment can ensure compliance. For newer sites, accessibility should be part any of brief given to Web developers: because in law, Web site accessibility is not optional.

Further reading:

• About the Disability Discrimination Act
• The full Disability Discrimination Act
• The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 Code of Practice (Adobe PDF file)

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