Access For All: It’s Not Only The Law; It’s Ethical
Accessible websites are crucial to a modern business’s success—not only because they provide legal compliance and economic advantages but because web accessibility is critical from an ethical standpoint and is quickly becoming a mainstay for model citizens.
The new age of business is emerging with high expectations for businesses and their civil rights approaches. Too often, enterprises use their success to justify the lack of equitable treatment for marginalized groups. According to an annual report by Boston College, a majority (nearly 70%) of executives report success in achieving objectives when ethical corporate citizenship is integrated with their strategy. This is an indicator that many customers are looking to direct their finances to organizations that respect their values.
The Issue Of Inaccessibility
One major issue with inaccessible websites is how large of a demographic they affect. One in four Americans have a functional disability, and many more will experience temporary limitations. Despite there being so many people who stand to benefit from accessible-friendly websites, only 2% of the top million websites are compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the “gold standard.”
People with vision and auditory impairments and motor and neurological disorders cannot enjoy digital resources in the same way the average person does. Unless websites follow strict accessibility guidance, these individuals are being barred from equal opportunity.
Web Accessibility For Equality
American society has already normalized equal access measures in brick-and-mortar spaces. For example, entrance ramps and elevators are required by law as an alternative to stairs and are so commonplace we are surprised when an establishment doesn’t have them. But while our physical establishments have created mandates for physical resources, such is not the case for information technology.
Compounding Issues With Disability Rights
Despite discrimination based on disability being illegal in the U.S. for more than three decades, accessibility problems continue on a large scale. Unequal rights online have been perpetuated through the lack of adequate legislation, the failure of regulatory agencies to act and the steep expenses associated with web accessibility compliance. These complications highlight the importance of why adopting an ethical responsibility can be bottom-line advantageous for consumers.
Lack Of Adequate Legislation
Modeled after civil rights legislation, equal rights for people with disabilities were established through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990. The legislation was aimed at protecting Americans’ privileges to work, quality of life and access to public-facing establishments regardless of ability.
But there is a fundamental problem with the legal case for accessibility 30 years later. Namely, the ADA was passed before even the first websites ever went live. This has resulted in pervasive questions regarding whether or not the law could actually be extended to digital content.
Lack Of Regulatory Standards
Even in light of when the Act was passed, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has held since 1996 that websites and digital resources fall under ADA. However, the absence of requirements and standards for what exactly constitutes a lawfully “accessible” website has led to a widespread lack of meaningful digital accessibility for people with disabilities. While there are specific guidelines (lists, measurements and specs) for how the DOJ gauges whether a building is ADA-compliant, no such guidelines have been identified by the Department for websites.
Lack Of Business Initiative
Companies need to see profits, and there are strong cases for how web accessibility can strengthen a financial position. However, the cost of achieving compliance can require some heavy lifting to convince decision makers of its advantages. The task can also be daunting for small- and medium-sized businesses that have limited resources. Web accessibility design requires specific technical knowledge, and remediating a large legacy website to comply with accessibility standards can be time-consuming.
Prevalence Of Web Accessibility Lawsuits
A lack of regulatory standards has had consequences. Not only do organizations not have a benchmark or target for the accessibility of their websites, but lack of clarity has led to an alarming trend in lawsuits. According to one report tracking federal court findings, ADA web accessibility lawsuits jumped 14% in 2021, rising to a new high of 2,895.
One explanation for this increase is that the DOJ has failed to lay out clear criteria, such as adopting the standards of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This means these web accessibility lawsuits can often succeed with vague allegations. Having to decide between a quick and low-cost settlement or a lengthy and high-ticket legal fight with unpredictable outcomes, most businesses choose the former.
Why Ethics Must Drive Web Accessibility
The ethical case for accessibility is really the strongest case that can be made. Regardless of what advantages or liabilities may be presenting themselves around the issue of web accessibility at any given time, ethics connect motivations back to what really matters—people.
Meaningful Accessibility
While guidelines are an essential factor in improving the current issues being experienced, they would not be necessary if organizations felt driven to create real solutions for real problems experienced by millions of people.
Many problems can arise by making web accessibility a matter of checking off boxes rather than creating meaningful accommodation. This is because when it comes to web accessibility, quality matters. For someone depending on audible dictation to access website content, meaningless image descriptions can be confusing for someone using a screen reader. A web accessibility testing tool may give you a higher score for including the alt-text, but no alt-text is arguably better than bad alt-text. The temptation to make accessibility a checklist rather than a user experience issue can be avoided when ethics is driving change.
Solving The Motivation Problem
An ethical drive to web accessibility ultimately circumvents all the circumstances that have contributed to the lack of urgency on the subject. If companies believe it’s their ethical responsibility to create accessible-friendly content, then the issues of costs and legal liabilities become irrelevant. Undertaking web accessibility as a priority will inevitably result in unintended net benefits; however, including leading to overall better site usability, more site traffic and a shield against potential litigation.
Article link – https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/27/access-for-all-its-not-only-the-law-its-ethical/?sh=1eedefa26d07