Slashdot Mirror
Judge Rules Sites Can Be Sued Over Design
BcNexus writes "According to the Associated Press, a California judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought against the Target Corporation may proceed under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The catch here is that the suit, leveled by the National Federation of the Blind, concerns the design of Target's website. Could this set a precedent and subsequent flood of lawsuits against websites? What if another design is not tractable?" From the article: "'What this means is that any place of business that provides services, such as the opportunity to buy products on a website, is now, a place of accommodation and therefore falls under the ADA,' said Kathy Wahlbin, Mindshare's Director of User Experience and expert on accessibility. 'The good news is that being compliant is not difficult nor is it expensive. And it provides the additional benefit of making accessible web sites easier for search engines to find and prioritize.'"
If a company wants to cater to the disabled (or the brown-eyed or Asians or left-handed Latinos), it should be able to make that decision for itself. But nobody has a RIGHT to do business with any particular company. What's next? Do deaf people sue every company that has a telephone and doesn't offer TTD service?
The ADA sounds good if you don't think it through logically, as do most of the stupid new laws that governments pass which encroach on the rights of individuals. When people claim a new right today, all they do is appeal to our emotions and good will. They don't bother to explain why anyone has a "right" to force me (as a business owner) to modify my business to suit THEIR needs and wants. No such right exists, but nobody has told the federal government that.
David
The internet isn't a right. If you can't use a site properly because of YOUR disability, then take your business elsewhere and let the company know that their site is crap. Filing a lawsuit shouldn't even be a option.
I've got 101 mod points and you can't have them!