Horray!

Peter

+== acb-l Message from "Reagan D. Lynch" <[log in to unmask]> ==+
February 1, 2001
e-Business Policy Watch

Web Access for All
New standards for federal sites should apply everywhere

By Doug Isenberg

For me, traveling with a laptop computer is like turning back the hands of
Internet time. Instead of a high-speed DSL connection, I'm limited by a
slow 56K modem. As a result, I often turn graphics off in my browser. If I
don't have to wait for pictures to download, I can get to information more
quickly.

Also, I often find myself using keyboard shortcuts on my laptop whenever
possible. Though they're a poor substitute for a mouse, I've learned that
these shortcuts are quicker than stumbling with an imprecise and tiny
pointing stick or a touch pad.

Still, the Web's full offerings cannot be enjoyed using my simple tricks.
While I'm happy to miss out on flashy graphics, many Web sites use graphic
elements to represent vital parts of a page, such as navigation. And you
can't easily surf the Web without pointing and clicking.

But while I'm only slightly inconvenienced when I use my laptop, plenty of
Web users are inconvenienced every day because their disabilities-such as
visual and mobility impairments-prevent them from accessing everything the
Web offers. Though assistive technologies such as screen-reading software
help, many sites still employ elements that render them inaccessible to the
disabled.

Fortunately, the U.S. government has recognized this dilemma and late last
year declared that the Web sites of all federal departments and agencies
must be at the forefront in ensuring access to electronic information. The
Access Board, an independent federal agency devoted to accessibility for
people with disabilities, issued standards that federal sites must meet by
mid-2001. For example:

> Government Web sites must use a text equivalent where nontext elements
such as graphics are used so the blind will be able to access the sites.

> Where color is used to identify screen elements or controls, the sites
must offer some other method of identification, such as text labels, so
people who are color-blind can use the sites.

> Scripts, applets, and plug-ins must be used carefully to ensure that they
do not create elements that would be unintelligible to screen-readers.

These standards, and others set out in the Access Board's 30-page report,
should go a long way toward opening the Web to a significant group of users
who could (and should) greatly benefit from it.

But these new standards are a small step, because they apply only to
federal government sites and not to the countless other sites we, the
enabled, rely upon. As a lawyer, I may access more government sites than
the average user, but I suspect that more than 99 percent of the Web pages
I surf would not be subject to the Access Board's new standards.

There's an ongoing legal debate about whether the Americans with
Disabilities Act applies to the Internet. This 1990 law resulted in the
widespread implementation of such things as ramps and wide doors to allow
wheelchair access in places of "public accommodation." If Web sites were
deemed to be places of public accommodation, perhaps they, like physical
sites, would also be legally required to provide access for the disabled.

Of course, the consequences of such a legal interpretation could be
enormous. Which sites would be required to comply? Limiting the application
to "commercial" sites would create uncertainty and still leave out many
vital sites. Setting a threshold based on a site's traffic or number of
pages could also be problematic.

But there's no need to wait and learn whether the law will require some or
all private sector Web sites to incorporate accessibility elements for the
disabled.  Many of the elements are easy to build in and would help not
only the disabled but also those with low-speed and wireless connections.
Because most Web publishers want to appeal to the largest audience
possible, there's no reason not to create access-friendly sites today.

Doug Isenberg, an attorney, is the editor and publisher of
GigaLaw.com, a provider of legal information for Internet professionals.
E-mail: [log in to unmask]


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