Analyzing Recent Americans with Disabilities Act-Based Accessible Information Technology Court Challenges‪.‬

Websites, just like buildings, can be designed to meet the needs of all people, including those with disabilities. The evolution of disability rights laws has resulted in the understanding that access to information and communication is a civil right for people with disabilities. For example, in the digital age, employees may expect an accessible intranet/Internet environment as a reasonable accommodation; students may expect access to distance learning courses; citizens may expect access to Internet kiosks for voting or participating in business or governmental transactions; and consumers may expect access to electronic textbooks and the Web-based environment. Unfortunately, however, web pages frequently contain major access barriers to effective communication and participation in the cybersociety of the new millennium. Consequently, the digital divide will continue to persist if this issue is not addressed through technological innovations, research, education, outreach, and laws. In the United States, several legal cases have attempted to apply the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to the Internet. In the past few years, lawsuits have been filed against America Online, Barnes and Noble, and Claire's Stores alleging that their websites violated the ADA, but the cases were either settled out of court or dropped when the company agreed to make its software compatible with devices designed for visually impaired users. In late 2002, in the first cases to come to trial, one federal judge ruled that Southwest Airlines does not have to revamp its website and virtual ticket counters, while another federal judge ruled that the Atlanta, Georgia mass transit agency violated the ADA by constructing a website that was inaccessible for people with visual disabilities. Though both cases involved the ADA, Southwest was decided under Title III of the ADA while the MARTA case fell under the very different provisions of Title II. Still, there is a fairly good chance that the issue appears to be destined for the U.S. Supreme Court where the outcome will determine whether the same law that requires movie theaters, department stores, and other public spaces to provide ramps and other accommodations for the disabled also applies to cyberspace. This paper explores the crucial issues implicated in recent court challenges to inaccessible websites and the resulting legal ramifications.