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Re: DoJ delays website accessibility rules

for

From: Jared Smith
Date: Aug 5, 2013 1:56PM


On Mon, Aug 5, 2013 at 1:35 PM, Chagnon | PubCom wrote:

> From the scuttlebutt I've
> heard from business associations - including from some of the large,
> national ones in Washington DC - they're thinking that they will be
> overwhelmed by the task.

From a brief filed with the Department of Justice just last week by
the very influential Internet Association, a group which represents
Google, Amazon, Facebook, AOL and eBay, among others: “Applying the
ADA to all Web sites may place uncertain, conflicting, burdensome, and
possibly ruinous obligations on members of The Internet Association.”
You can read more at
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/web-giants-to-deaf-consumers-go-away-073013.html

Perhaps not surprisingly, this was filed just the day before the DoJ
announced yet another months-long delay in the rules update. This is
not a good sign for individuals with disabilities.

Jonathan Hassell has an excellent rebuttal to these cries of "ruinous
obligations" at
http://www.hassellinclusion.com/2013/08/web-accessibility-ruinous-obligation/

Jared