A U.S. court ruling on Web site accessibility for the blind could force companies to step up their adoption of technology for those with special needs.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that Web sites such as Target.com, the U.S. retail giant, are required by California law to be accessible, extending a disabilities provision to the Internet.
The court further certified a lawsuit against Target by the National Federation of the Blind as a class action on behalf of blind Internet users throughout the U.S.
"This is a tremendous step forward for blind people throughout the country who for too long have been denied equal access to the Internet economy," the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) said in a statement. "All e-commerce businesses should take note of this decision and immediately take steps to open their doors to the blind."
The NFB's suit alleges that Target failed to make its Web site accessible to the blind, and then refused to do so when confronted with the issue, violating the Americans With Disabilities Act and two California civil rights statutes: the California UNRUH Civil Rights Act and the California Disabled Persons Act.
Many people with little or no vision can access the Internet using screen readers, which read words out loud from right to left on a page, according to WebAIM, a project by Utah State University and the Center for Persons with Disabilities.
Such users mainly depend on a keyboard rather than a mouse, because of the visual nature of point and click usage, WebAIM says. It suggests nearly a dozen ways to make Web sites easier for the blind to use, including designs that use keyboard-alternatives where a mouse might normally be required, and providing text descriptions under graphics, photographs, and other images.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts
This white paper provides guidance on how to develop a strategic approach to managing and monitoring logs, a key function required for compliance with many regulatory mandates and a critical defense against security threats.
Download now! »
Learn about the processes and technologies that support security information management (SIM) operations, as well as the business case for SIM. The series examines different options for implementing SIM and gives you evaluation criteria for selecting the best option for your organization.
Download now! »
Learn the strategies, actions, and capabilities that Best-in-Class organizations employ and technologies they choose to obtain superior performance against various security performance metrics. This report provides guidelines for identifying which security solutions to consume as a MSS and defines best practices for choosing and managing MSSPs.
Download now! »
5 Recommendations
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is in their rights to raise issues and lobby on behalf of the visually impaired. Whether lawsuits are an approapriate means is another question but in a country where lawsuits appear to be a national pastime and an integral part of its culture, it may be the only means.