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SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The Americans with Disabilities Act was
passed in 1990. That is a long time ago in computer years. The
Department of Justice is expected to release formal regulations
this month that for the first time would apply ADA accessibility
requirements to the web. From member station WHYY, Todd Bookman
reports.
TODD BOOKMAN, BYLINE: If you're blind, the Web probably has a
familiar sound.
(SOUNDBITE OF SCREEN READER)
ANGEL AYALA: We're on the Department of Justice website under
accessibility under Internet accessibility.
BOOKMAN: We're inside the computer lab at Overbrook School for
the Blind in Philadelphia, where senior Angel Ayala is showing
off how screen reading software works. He's using the keyboard
to tab through all the various links on this government webpage.
Angel is so used to hearing the Internet, he's got the speed
turned way up.
(SOUNDBITE OF SCREEN READER)
BOOKMAN: Sitting to Angel's right is sophomore Marvin Pearson,
also blind since birth. Even checking email or Facebook can be
tricky.
MARVIN PEARSON: Where's login at? I don't know why this ain't
working. Oh, there we go.
BOOKMAN: This is how it goes for these kids.
PEARSON: I can't - oh, my goodness.
BOOKMAN: For lots of people with disabilities, everything on
the Web is a little slower, a little more frustrating. Angel and
Marvin say some sites work well with screen readers and some just
don't.
AYALA: That's a huge problem with people who can't see the
screen and have to deal with these graphics and PDFs and other
things that aren't presented to us the same way it's presented to
you.
BOOKMAN: To make a website accessible, it doesn't need to be
all text or cluttered with captions or stripped of graphics.
Most of the time, the changes are relatively minor fixes Web
developers make to the back end code, where the screen reader
picks up its instructions. Sighted people wouldn't see any
difference. And when the coding is done right, it's the digital
equivalent of a wheelchair ramp. The type of accommodation the
Americans with Disabilities Act helped make widespread.
Advocates say the Web now needs that same treatment.
CHRIS DANIELSON: This is beyond just mere conveniences like
shopping online.
BOOKMAN: Chris Danielson is director of public relations for
the National Federation of the Blind.
DANIELSON: This deals with education and, you know, employment,
being able to do so many things that I just don't think it's
realistic to say in the 21st century that websites don't have to
be ADA compliant.
BOOKMAN: On this point, the United States Department of Justice
appears to be on Danielson's side. The DOJ is scheduled to
release regulations this month spelling out exactly what an
ADA-compliant site is and to clarify which websites would have to
meet those standards. In the absence of clear laws, lawsuits
have been the go-to strategy. Companies including Target,
Netflix and H&R Block have all reached settlement agreements.
Others made site improvements after customer requests.
(SOUNDBITE OF BASEBALL GAME)
UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: The Giants win the pennant.
MATTHEW GOULD: It was really a great grassroots initiative of
baseball fans - visually impaired baseball fans who wanted that
level of access, you know, to their games, particularly live
games.
BOOKMAN: This is Matthew Gould with MLB Advanced Media. He
says the group just didn't know the site wasn't working well for
everyone. So when it was brought to their attention, coders made
the improvements. Lainey Feingold, a disabilities rights lawyer
in California, says federal action could spur sites to be more
proactive.
LAINEY FEINGOLD: I think that it's going to be very big when
they issue their regulations because it is going to be a wake-up
call, and it is going to bring heightened attention to the issue.
BOOKMAN: And the issue, according to Feingold, isn't about
special treatment, it's about making sure the Web works for
everyone. For NPR News, I'm Todd Bookman.
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved.
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