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Proposed ADA Requirements May Affect Public Internet Use
An anonymous reader writes "The Associated Press is reporting on federal officials who want to expand the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to require accommodations by public websites, call centers, and technology providers. Hearings are scheduled in Chicago, Washington, and San Francisco. New rules could be implemented as soon as 2012. 'For more than a decade, the Justice Department has interpreted the ADA to apply to websites that offer goods and services. But now that idea could be clarified, and timetables for compliance could be set. ... The Justice Department is considering making it clear that some personal, noncommercial content would not be affected.'"
...but I don't think most businesses (or most people, generally) have anything to object to here. What's likely to make people anxious about changes to the ADA is uncertainty over what those changes will involve.
As a web developer, my main concern is just knowing what I'll have to do or do differently. It would be helpful if articles like this -- or their summaries -- provided links to the proposed guidelines. Personally, I'd prefer to get a head start on this so that my clients and I don't end up rushing to implement changes as the last moment.
Here you go: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/ WCAG 2.0 is what the upcoming revision to Section 508 is being based on.
Yeah, and this will make it worse.
Having more government regulations is great for big businesses. Making their website compliant (or following most other regulations) costs money, but that amount of money is peanuts compared to the overall profits of the business. Meanwhile, any small businesses that want to compete find themselves having to pay a sum of money that is a good chunk of (or even more than) their profit in order to ensure compliance. Net result: big business wins. The conservatives are actually opposing big business here.