Screen Readers Navigate Path
to High Court
They Seek Civil Rights in Web
Accessibility
by Clarence Schadegg
Bruce Sexton, a blind University
of Berkley student, simply wanted to independently purchase a product
from the Target Web site. But when Target Corporation chose to fight
to keep its Web site inaccessible to blind people, he took action.
In the spring of 2006, The National Federation of the Blind (NFB),
the NFB of California and Mr. Sexton filed a class-action lawsuit
against Target, after months of negotiations between Target and the
NFB had broken down.
The plaintiffs frame
the suit as a civil rights issue, as the blind are denied the same
independent online access to the Target Web site enjoyed by other
segments of the population. Target has taken the position, in part, “that no civil rights laws apply to the
Internet.” Ironically Target would likely benefit from the
lawsuit; with expanded access, more Target products will be purchased
by the large world-wide population of blind people. (According to
the May 2006 U.S. Census, about 7.9 million people age 15 and older
had difficulty seeing the words and letters in ordinary newspaper
print, including 1.8 million who were unable to see.)
The lawsuit, now on
its way to the United States Supreme Court, has put Web designers
on notice to build Web sites that make it possible for all shoppers
to enjoy the right and opportunity to independently purchase the
product of their choice. According to the United Nations report,
2005, “In the United Kingdom, 75 per cent of the companies
of the FTSE 100 Index on the London Stock Exchange do not meet basic
levels of Web accessibility, thus missing out on more than $147 million
in revenue.” And yet, the largest minority group in the world
is people with disabilities.” (Around 10 per cent and rising,
according to the World Health Organization.)
The plaintiffs charged
that “target.com fails to meet the
minimum standard of Web accessibility. It lacks compliant alt-text,
an invisible code embedded beneath graphic images that allows screen
readers to detect and vocalize a description of the image to a blind
computer user. [The Target Web site] also contains inaccessible image
maps and other graphical features, preventing blind users from navigating
and making use of all of the functions of the Web site.” Because
the Web site requires the use of a mouse to complete a transaction, “blind
Target customers are unable to make purchases on target.com independently.”
The plaintiffs are represented
by the law firm Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) of Berkeley CA.
Mazen M. Basrawi, a fellow at DRA, summarized the wide-reaching
ramifications of the lawsuit. “The
court clarified that the law requires that any place of public accommodation
is required to ensure that it does not discriminate when it uses
the internet as a means to enhance the services it offers at a physical
location.” ![]()
Sources include: National
Federation for the Blind and Disability Rights Advocates
Author’s statement:
I am not an active member of any organization of and for the blind.
My story and my comments are made independently of any organization
of and for blind people.
