The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) & Web Accessibility

There's been widespread speculation about the new legislation being introduced under the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act), which will ensure that websites are accessible to blind and disabled users. Try to find specific information about it on the Internet and chances are you'll come up empty handed.

The RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) and the DRC (Disability Rights Commission), two of the most renowned advocates for the DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) and accessible websites, have no specific information about the laws and what websites specifically need to do in order to meet the legal requirements.

So, what does the law state?

Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act refers to the provision of goods, facilities and services. The Code of Practice, which specifically mentions websites, can be downloaded in its entirety from the DRC website (http://www.drc-gb.org/open4all/law/Code%20of%20Practice.pdf 676kb).

The relevant quotes from this 175-page document are:

• 2.2 (p7): "The 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."

• 4.7 (p39): "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."

• 2.13 ? 2.17 (p11-13): "What services are affected by the 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."

• 5.23 (p71): "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."

• 5.26 (p68): "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. "

When does the law come into force?

It's widely believed that the new laws will be implemented in October of this year, when the final part of the DDA comes into force. This final piece of legislation actually refers to service providers having to consider making permanent physical adjustments to their premises and is not related to the Internet in any way.

The law about accessible websites came into force on 1st October 1999 (http://www.drc-gb.org/open4all/law/code.asp) and the Code of Practice for this section of the Act was published on 27th May 2002 (http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2002/20020720.htm). This means that the majority of websites are already in breach of the law.

Can you be sued?

Well, probably. The RNIB claim that they've considered taking up a number of legal cases against organisations with regard to their websites. When they raised the accessibility issues of the website under the DDA, companies have typically made the necessary changes, rather than facing the prospect of legal action.

The DRC has now published their findings from their formal investigation into 1000 websites. (http://www.drc-gb.org/publicationsandreports/2.pdf). If your website was included then you will have to start thinking about making it accessible to all web users in the very near future.

What do you need to do to comply?

It's widely believed that if, or perhaps more appropriately when, a case makes it to court that the W3C accessibility guidelines will be used to assess a website's accessibility and ultimately decide the outcome of the case. The W3C is the Internet governing body and its web accessibility guidelines can be found at http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/full-checklist.html.

To further complicate matters, the W3C offers three different levels of compliance. Priority 1 guidelines, (which must be satisfied according to the W3C) will almost certainly have to be adhered to. Priority 2 guidelines (which should be satisfied and are the EU recommended level of compliance (http://www.disabilityworld.org/09-10_02/access/internetaccess.shtml), or some part of, will probably also need to be adhered to too.

The courts will also no doubt take guidance from the outcome of an Australian case in 2000, when a blind man successfully sued the Sydney Olympics organising committee over their inaccessible website (http://www.contenu.nu/socog.html).

Disability Discrimination Act in full: http://www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1995/Ukpga_19950050_en_1.htm

About The Author

This article was written by Trenton Moss. He's crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy (Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

---

Website Value - Whats Your Business Website Worth?

If you were asked to put a value on your... Read More

A Beginners Guide to Server Side Includes

An Introduction to Server Side IncludesBeginner? That's OK!While much has... Read More

Lead Generation How to -- 10 Tips On Generating More Internet Sales Leads

Many millions of dollars are being wasted on promoting and... Read More

Enhance Your Website With A Yahoo-Style Directory

Does your website have a links/resources page?Do you exchange reciprocal... Read More

Live Support from Your Website? Can You Do It for Free?

I'm a freelance programmer and somehow I managed to get... Read More

The 5 Biggest Mistakes Almost All Web Designers Make

Huge Mistake #1: Creating a Website with Flash -- Did... Read More

Top 5 Reasons to Track Your Website Traffic

#5 User Satisfaction: Learn what your visitors and site users... Read More

Building eCommerce Websites that Work - Part 3

An interesting eCommerce success factor that isn't precisely overlooked, but... Read More

The Two Most Common Mistakes That Scare Away Web Visitors

Can you imagine the hypocrisy of spending thousands of dollars,... Read More

Warning: The Truth About Having a Web Site!

If you don't have a web site yet, are thinking... Read More

Do You Need a Web Database?

Does My Web Site Require A Web Database?If your web... Read More

Ten Major Tips to Develop a Multilingual Web Site to Work

If you are living in a country that its native... Read More

High Quality Website at Low Cost

Although designing a great web site is an important part... Read More

5 Essential Traits Of A Home Business Website

So you've decided to start an online work at home... Read More

Why You Need A Web Site

"I have a small business with just a couple of... Read More

If You Build It, They Will Come?

Building a new website can be a lengthy task. From... Read More

Tell me what your website does!

You know exactly what your organisation does and what your... Read More

Making Your Websites More Compelling

The Internet is a remarkable publishing medium. With just a... Read More

Why Your Brick-and-Mortar Biz Needs A Website

The internet has taken over our lives with a vengeance,... Read More

HTML Editors - How to Choose the Right One for Building Your Websites

There are lots of HTML editors on the market, however,... Read More

Is Your Web Site Talking to Your Customer?

A while ago one of my clients approached me and... Read More

Autoresponders Make You Look Like A Pro

People like to get immediate responses to requests. Autoresponders are... Read More

Do Authors Need a Website?

"I am a writer, not a business-person. I don't want... Read More

How to Create a Professional Web Site in 24 Hours

While creating a Web site may seem like... Read More

Achieving Differentiation With Your Website

Internet Marketing is not a miracle marketing strategy ? competition... Read More

Your Website Reflects Your Business

Some left shoes are in isle 5, while the right... Read More

How to Handle Web Surfers Who Disabled JavaScript

There are hundreds of millions of Web surfers today. Each... Read More

Learn to Build a Better Online Business Website Using Keywords and Content

Are you aware that 90% of the websites on the... Read More

Guidelines for Web Page Optimization

Below, I have listed 8 simple steps that you can... Read More

Creating Websites that Cater to Exam Preparations

One of the things that Internet excels is disseminating information... Read More

Where on Earth is Your Websitee?

You've just finished congratulating your marketing team. After six months... Read More

Maximizing ROI via Web Site Traffic Analysis

We are clearly well past the innocent "golden age" of... Read More

Entangled in the World Wide Web

I am just a learner who likes to delve in... Read More