Under the Section 21 of the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995, any UK business website must make reasonable adjustments to its site such that disabled visitors can still access their services. In 2003 the Sydney Olympics website was sued under a similar law for failing to provide reasonable access to disabled visitors with an eventual payout of $20,000. This highlights the seriousness to which these new laws can be taken.
If a blind visitor found a site they were unable to access they have several choices. Firstly they can contact the site itself, noting the failings they’ve found within the website and asking them to update it. Failing that they can contact one of several groups who try and fight on behalf of disabled web users, the RNIB is particularly voiceful against non-standards compliant websites. Finally they can contact a lawyer and prosecute the site for not providing reasonable access, however this can be costly for both parties.
Many companies would rather choose to pay for a new, W3C standards compliant website, than having to face the alternative; a lengthy court battle with mounting legal fees at the end. Nowadays there is no reason not to make an accessible site, with not only the legal but moral implications that follow it.
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