Is website accessibility an explicit requirement of the ADA?

Is website accessibility an explicit requirement of the ADA?

• A. The ADA requires effective communication; accessible digital content.
• B. The ADA explicitly lists mandatory website standards in statute.
• C. The ADA only covers physical spaces, not digital.
• D. Accessibility is recommended but not required.

Answer: (A)

The essential idea is that the ADA requires effective communication, and that obligation extends to digital information. The law doesn’t spell out a specific, listed set of website standards in the text, but it does require that information and services be accessible so people with disabilities can obtain them on the same basis as others. Making websites usable for screen readers, ensuring keyboard navigation, providing text alternatives for images, captions for videos, and accessible forms are concrete ways to provide that effective communication online. Because of this broad requirement, accessibility of digital content is needed to fulfill the ADA’s purpose, even without an explicit, line-by-line listing of website standards.

The essential idea is that the ADA requires effective communication, and that obligation extends to digital information. The law doesn’t spell out a specific, listed set of website standards in the text, but it does require that information and services be accessible so people with disabilities can obtain them on the same basis as others. Making websites usable for screen readers, ensuring keyboard navigation, providing text alternatives for images, captions for videos, and accessible forms are concrete ways to provide that effective communication online. Because of this broad requirement, accessibility of digital content is needed to fulfill the ADA’s purpose, even without an explicit, line-by-line listing of website standards.