Transcript 5th European eAccessbility Forum Cynthia D. Waddell, Juris Doctor Executive Director ICDRI 28 March 2011 Paris, France.

5th European eAccessbility Forum
Cynthia D. Waddell, Juris Doctor
Executive Director ICDRI
28 March 2011
Paris, France
Overview
 Legal Framework
 Sections 504 and 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
 21st Century Communications & Video
Accessibility Act
Overview
 Litigation for eAccessibility
 Walt Disney Website Case
 NFB v. Target Settlement
 Kindle eBook Litigation against U.S.
Universities & Settlement
 Other Accessible Web
Litigation (If Time Allows)
Legal Framework
 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Legal Framework
 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Legal Framework
 1998 Amendments to
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(Section 508)
(Section 508)
Legal Framework
 21st Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act
Litigation for eAccessibility
 Walt Disney Company Websites: Disney
Online and Walt Disney Parks & Resorts
Complaint Filed September 2010
 Alleges Disney Websites not Accessible to
Screen-reading Technologies
 Seeks Remedies under ADA and California
Disability Rights Laws
Litigation for eAccessibility
 Motion for Class Action Filed February 2011
 Class Action Hearing Set for April 11, 2011
 Arguments based on NFB v. Target and
Enyart v. National Conference of Bar
Examiners
Litigation for eAccessibility
 NFB v. Target- ADA Title III Brick and
Mortar Businesses with Websites Shall be
Accessible under Nexus Theory
 Risk is Injunctive Relief and Attorneys
Fees as well as Possible Damages via US
Department of Justice Enforcement
Litigation for eAccessibility
 NFB v. Target Filed 2/2006; Settled 8/2008
 Target To Make Web Site Accessible
 $6 Million Paid to Members of CA Class; Up
to $7,000 each person
 $20,000 to establish CA Center for the Blind
 $3.7 Million Attorneys Fees & Costs
Litigation for eAccessibility
 NFB v. Target – CA Unruh Civil Rights Act &
Disabled Persons Act
 All Business Websites for California
Residents Shall be Accessible
 If Business Websites are Not Accessible,
Businesses Risk Treble Damages and
Liability Starting at $4,000 Per Incident
Litigation for eAccessibility
 Kindle eBook Litigation
Kindle
(3G Wireless)
Electronic Book Litigation
Electronic Book Litigation
Litigation for eAccessibility
 April 2009 Six Colleges & Universities
announce pilot projects with Amazon to use
the Kindle DX in classes
 University of Washington, Withrop University
and Concordia College joined
 Other colleges bought Kindles for their
libraries
Litigation for eAccessibility
 Kindle DX featured text-to-speech technology
that could read textbooks aloud but the menu
controls were not accessible
 Blind students could not purchase books from
Amazon’s Kindle store, select a book to read,
activate the TTS nor use advanced features
Litigation for eAccessibility
 June 2009- NFB and American Council of the
Blind File Complaint against Arizona State
University to prevent deployment of Kindle
DX electronic reader as a means of
distributing textbooks because the device
could not be used by blind students
Litigation for eAccessibility
 NFB & ACB Complaints also filed against 5
institutions: Case Western Reserve
University; the Darden School of Business at
the University of Virginia; Pace University;
Princeton University; and Reed College
Litigation for eAccessibility
 USDOJ Settlements made by January 2010
 Colleges will not purchase, promote,
recommend or require a Kindle DX or any
other dedicated ebook reader for use by
students until 1) device is fully accessible or
2) Reasonable accommodation or
modification is provided on a case by case
basis
Litigation for eAccessibility
 eReader Market Response
 April 3, 2010: Apple Launches iPad with
Extensive Accessibility Features
 July 29, 2010: Amazon Releases Kindle 3
with Talking Menus; but web browser is not
accessible , ebooks must be downloaded via
a PC, and traditional page numbering is
lacking as well as full
navigation features
Litigation for eAccessibility
 Darla Rogers v. State of Florida (ADA
Employment Title & Section 508 ICT)
 Filed August 2009; Settled June 2010
 Awarded Back Pay & Compensatory
damages; State agreed to purchase JAWS
11 and to remediate web-based software
 Expert Witness
Litigation for eAccessibility
 National Federation of the Blind v. Small
Business Administration
 Violates Section 508
 Complaint filed July 22, 2009: Blind users
cannot fill out forms or take online courses;
business owner could not apply for
certification
Litigation for eAccessibility
 Boggs v. LA County Metro
 2006 Complaint that Website Not
Accessible; Served as Expert Witness
 2010 Notice of Class Action & Proposed
Settlement Pending
 Website Bus Schedule, Fare & Route Info,
Trip Planner & Online Customer Comment
Form to meet W3C WCAG
Litigation for eAccessibility
 NFB v. Social Security Administration
 Section 508 Administrative Complaint Filed
August 24, 2009
 Blind users cannot fill out forms and
questionnaires on the website or access
information about their benefits
Contact Information
Cynthia D. Waddell, Juris Doctor
Executive Director & Law Policy and
Technology Subject Matter Expert
International Center for Disability
Resources on the Internet (ICDRI)
Email: [email protected]