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Research Service
The Americans with Disabilities Act in
Cyberspace: Website Accessibility Standards
October 20, 2022
Written in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives uncertain guidance about businesses'
and nonprofits' responsibility to make their online offerings accessible to the disabled. As explained in a
separate Sidebar, courts are divided on whether the parts of the ADA that govern businesses and
nonprofits cover websites, and which websites they cover. (There is little debate that government websites
are required to be accessible, either under the ADA or the Rehabilitation Act.) That said, assuming the
ADA does apply to private websites, the question becomes, How does a covered entity make its website
accessible in a way that comports with the statute? The Department of Justice (DOJ), charged with
enforcing the relevant provisions of the ADA, recently attempted to clarify the agency's view, issuing
guidance on cyberspace accessibility. This Sidebar describes potential features that make a private
website accessible in those cases where the ADA may apply. It considers judicial decisions on
accessibility, agency guidance for private websites, analogous requirements for federal and federally
funded websites, and private accessibility standards-some of which have gained widespread acceptance
and agency endorsement.
The ADA: Text and History
In general, the ADA requires modifications to existing facilities and practices to allow people with
disabilities to participate in public life. The statute covers three major areas of public life: employment
(Title I), public services (state and local government) (Title II), and public accommodations (businesses
and nonprofits open to the public) (Title III).
For public accommodations, the statute requires reasonable modifications in policies, practices, or
procedures when needed. Such enterprises must not deny people with disabilities the opportunity ... to
participate in or benefit from th[eir] goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or
accommodations. In other words, to comport with the ADA, public accommodations must be accessible
to persons with covered disabilities. They may not provide an accommodation that is not equal to that
afforded to other individuals or that is different from or separate from that provided to other
individuals unless a separate benefit is necessary to provide an equal opportunity. Reasonable
modification includes offering auxiliary aids and services for communication.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
LSB10845
CRS Legal Sidebar
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govejbm0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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