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Accessibility Industry Update: August 2024

Home » Blogs/Events » Accessibility Industry Update: August 2024

Welcome back to the monthly QualityLogic accessibility industry update, where we’ll be recapping everything new and noteworthy that happened throughout July of 2024.

From AccessiBe (one of the most prominent accessibility overlay providers) getting sued to delayed fallout following the DOJ’s Title II ruling, it was quite an eventful month!

As always, let us know if you think we’ve missed something, or share the link with your colleagues or partners who may benefit from some or all of this information. You can also sign up to receive these accessibility updates via email.

AccessiBe hit with class action lawsuit

In August of 2022, Tribeca Skin Care (a dermatology practice out of New York) came across AccessiBe, a company claiming to provide a revolutionary product known as an accessibility overlay. In short, you add a code snippet to your website, then when a user clicks on a button, the content is modified in real-time to conform to accessibility standards, creating an inclusive (and compliant) experience for everyone. Or so they say.

Imagine the surprise when, back in January, the business was unexpectedly hit with a class action lawsuit from people with cognitive and physical impairments alleging that even with the overlay enabled, they still could not use the website.

In response, Tribeca filed a class action lawsuit of their own against AccessiBe on June 24. Included is a write-up going into great detail about what AccessiBe promises (compliance, usability, and protection) vs what they actually deliver. This comes not long after blind individuals took to the internet to dispel many of AccessiBe’s claims.

The plaintiff claims AccessiBe engaged in breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, violation of New York State general business law, and breach of implied warranty, and is seeking injunctive relief. You can read more from LFLegal or read the full complaint directly (PDF).

Hyatt corporation sued over accessibility violations

In a new class action lawsuit, Flor Jiminez (a legally blind screen reader user) claims that the Hyatt’s website is not accessible which violates both the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.

Specifically, it appears to be difficult (if not downright impossible for some users) to filter search results, distinguish hotel options from one another, and complete a booking when a screen reader is enabled, as of independent accessibility testing performed on the 31st of July.

Jiminez is currently requesting a jury trial, declaratory and injunctive relief, and an award of statutory damages for herself and other impacted parties.

SIIA warns schools to prepare for costly and timely Title II compliance

We recently did a deep dive on New ADA Title II Requirements, which arose out of the publishing of a final rule from the Department of Justice mandating digital accessibility for all state and government services. Since then, there has been widespread speculation on the costs that will be incurred to realize such an objective.

One of the most notable conversations comes from a white paper published this month by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). It speculates the financial impact of remediation and testing to run around $1.134 billion for K-12 classroom courses and $5.5 billion for post-secondary courses.

You can read more from the New DOJ Rule on ADA Title II and Its Impact on EdTech Companies – SIIA press release.

From the World Wide Web Consortium (W3)

WCAG2ICT Final Draft

The WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) is currently seeking a final round of feedback before publishing their Guidance on Applying WCAG 2 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) as an official W3C Working Group Note.

This guidance document aims to bridge the gap between web-based accessibility standards and other digital technologies like documents, desktop software, and mobile applications. It preserves compatibility by relying on the same guidelines, principles, and success criteria, with amendments made only when necessary.

The WCAG2ICT was originally published in 2013 a few years following the release of WCAG 2.0. The latest draft incorporates all of the changes made in WCAG 2.1 and 2.2.

For Wide Review: Collaboration Tools Accessibility User Requirements

The Collaboration Tools Accessibility User Requirements outline best practices for implementing synchronous and asynchronous web-based collaborative tools that are usable by people with cognitive and physical impairments. Collaboration tools include any software or web applications that allow multiple individuals to work together on a project to create, edit, annotate, or review a document. Good examples are word processors (like Google Docs and Microsoft Word), version control and integrated development environments (VS Code, Git, etc.), wikis, and audio editing applications.

These requirements are broken down into the following sections:

  • What are collaboration tools? (scope)
  • Distinctive features of collaboration tools
  • Defining User needs
  • Social Considerations
  • Real-Time co-editing
  • Annotations
  • Version control features
  • Notifications and Messages
  • Access Controls
  • General Guidance on Implementing Accessibility Features of Collaborative Environments

Additional Reading 

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