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Re: Fixing WAI's writing styleDoes WCAG require ...

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From: Léonie Watson
Date: Dec 1, 2015 2:07AM

> From: WebAIM-Forum On Behalf Of Chagnon | PubCom.com
> Sent: 30 November 2015 22:32
> I can't find much to agree on in your last post.
> Your view of accessibility from the Moscow corporate world must be
> different from mine in the Federal government in Washington DC.
>
> My firm consults with lawyers about accessibility issues...such as what's
> enforceable, where the standards can be enforced, etc. It's worrisome
> whether WCAG is able to protect the rights of disabled people here in the
> United States, namely because of the reasons I've already stated: lack of
> clarity in the standards, too many loopholes, and too much confusion about
> what needs to be done to meet compliance for different types of media.

What is really worrisome is that lawyers are dictating accessibility in the first place. In the UK our disability legislation does not mention WCAG (or any other specific set of guidelines). We use WCAG as the guidelines they are intended to be, and our benchmark is whether someone can actually use a service or not.

The lawyers that gave the go-ahead for WCAG to be adopted into law in different countries presumably felt they were fit for purpose. If that isn't the case, then perhaps a better question is why they did?

Léonie.

--
Senior accessibility engineer @LeonieWatson @PacielloGroup