Target sued over Web site design?
Ah, Berkeley. Man, I miss those people!
I don't know if you saw it, but this past week a federal court judge authorized the lawsuit of a UC-Berkeley student who was suing Target over its Web site's design. As detailed in this San Francisco Chronicle online story, the Target Web site does not use software that allows it to be viewed by the blind. So, according to the law suit, Target is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I can't say that I understand the technology behind it, but I know that all Web sites with the *.ufl.edu extension can be heard with special software designed for the blind.
Think of the implications... Target is a huge retailer with substantial profits. The National Federation of the Blind and other advocates are using this lawsuit as a warning for others to make their Web sites compatible. The costs of revamping Web sites with the new technology could potentially be devastating for those nonprofits without the huge endowments.
Let's not even think about a potential law suit... but imagine yourself as an executive director of a nonprofit organization, and you just read about this law suit. Your Web site isn't compatible, and you have no idea how to make it compatible. Given the context of our readings this week on the legal, what would you do to your Web site if anything?
I don't know if you saw it, but this past week a federal court judge authorized the lawsuit of a UC-Berkeley student who was suing Target over its Web site's design. As detailed in this San Francisco Chronicle online story, the Target Web site does not use software that allows it to be viewed by the blind. So, according to the law suit, Target is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
I can't say that I understand the technology behind it, but I know that all Web sites with the *.ufl.edu extension can be heard with special software designed for the blind.
Think of the implications... Target is a huge retailer with substantial profits. The National Federation of the Blind and other advocates are using this lawsuit as a warning for others to make their Web sites compatible. The costs of revamping Web sites with the new technology could potentially be devastating for those nonprofits without the huge endowments.
Let's not even think about a potential law suit... but imagine yourself as an executive director of a nonprofit organization, and you just read about this law suit. Your Web site isn't compatible, and you have no idea how to make it compatible. Given the context of our readings this week on the legal, what would you do to your Web site if anything?
posted by Richard @ 12:28 AM
1 Comments:
At 12:56 PM, September 17, 2006,
austin said…
As a director of a nonprofit organization, I would wait for the court ruling on this case before I began investing resources to correct the problem. If my organization has little to no interaction with blind persons, I would wait before consulting someone. If my organization is regarded as a good resource for blind persons, I would consult someone who knows about this topic immediately.
I would contact the person/group that developed my current site and ask if they can make it compatible because when they were given the task to develop the site, it was understand the Web site was to be made correctly. If they cannot correct the problem, then I would begin asking for volunteers that are knowledgeable in this topic area to help correct the problem.
Given that I was responsible for the Web site for a short time that resided on a .ufl domain, I do know what is required for a Web site to be capable of being accessed by a person that needs assistance in obtaining information form a web site. A screen reader is software that picks out the content of a web site and "reads" it to the user. If a Web site passes the W3C consortium standards, it should be able to be read by a screen reader with no problems. The other way to make a Web site be in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is to make a text only site that contains the same words used on the full-blown Web site.
Unfortunately, only my immediate boss at the time understood the need to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and allowed me to make the text-only site. After she left, my new boss ignored this need, and the director of the department ignored it as well. And this was for a department that is under the Division of Student Affairs umbrella. As it would be nice if every .ufl Web page were in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, it is not the case.
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