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The UK Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) of 1995 states that it is unlawful for--
a provider of services to discriminate against a disabled person in failing to comply with its provisions
In the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act, however, no specific mention of relating this to website accessibility was made.
Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act refers to the provision of goods, facilities and services. The 1995 DDA was refined in May 2002 with the publishing by the disability Rights commission (DRC) of the code of practise. This document, for the first time, specifically mentions web-sites in terms of discrimination, accessibility and the law.
This 175 page document has the following quotes relevant to the accessibility of web-sites:
The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.
From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.
What services are affected by the Disability Discrimination Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.
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 websites.
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 websites.
Section III of the DDA, which refers to accessible websites, came into force on 1st October 1999 and the Code of Practice for this section of the DDA was published on 27th May 2002. However, many are under the misapprehension that the new laws were only implemented in October 2004 with the final section of the DDA coming into law. However, this section of the DDA was not related to the accessibility of web-sites -- It dealt solely with such things as physical access to buildings. And it is not related to the internet or websites in any way.
Additionally, web-site accessibility is of particular legal importance in relation to those involved in the provision of educational materials. -- Educational institutions are obliged, under both the Disability Discrimination Act (1995) and the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (2001), to ensure their web-sites do not discriminate against a disabled person in relation to services provided, either to students or the public at large.
"Disabled" May include people with:
If a website is unnecessarily hindering access to the website by individuals with any such disabilities this may be interpreted as disability discrimination and open the website to potential legal prosecutions.
It Should now be noted though, that From 1 October 2010, the majority of the Equality Act 2010 will be implemented and will replace major parts of the provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and The Disability Descrimination Act 2005 It was on the 28th September 2007 when the Disability Rights Commission ceased to exist, hopefully with the shift of power regarding what was in the Disability discrimination Act to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the very near future, this issue may again be a little clearer than currently it is.
Priority 1 checkpoints (High Priority) (Level A compliance) A Web content developer must satisfy these checkpoints. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying these checkpoints is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents.
Priority 2 checkpoints (Medium Priority) (Level double A compliance means satisfying all Priority 1 and 2 checkpoints) A Web content developer should satisfy these checkpoints. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying these checkpoints will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents.
Priority 3 (Low Priority) (Level triple A compliance means satisfying all Priority 1, 2 and 3 checkpoints) A Web content developer may address these checkpoints. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying these checkpoints will improve access to Web documents.
The law in the UK does not define which of these levels is acceptable or required; it merely states that discrimination is illegal. It would seem reasonable for website owners to expect some level of protection if they at least ensure their website is W3C WAI compliant to Level A.
Note however that W3C WAI standards use the terms "must satisfy" in respect of Priority 1 checkpoints (Level A), the term "should satisfy" in respect of Priority 2 checkpoints (Level double A) and "may address" in respect of Priority 3 (Level triple A) checkpoints. This implies that a website needs to be Level double A compliant to be comfortable with their position relative to the formal standards available. Level double A is arguably the industry standard.
Frequently now various tests and independent studies are being undertaken to examine website accessibility and websites are being 'named and shamed'. So arguably the higher the level of compliance the better: I recommend level double A conformance as the standard acceptable level of conformance.
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Page last modified: Wednesday, 15 September 2010 23:40
©2009, 2010 Mark V Faben