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www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
Does the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) include websites?
Matthew Eaton
Accessibility Specialist
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
Yes!
• A Website provides a service.
• The DDA Code of Practice – Part III mentions websites explicitly:
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
• 2.2 (p7): “The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.”
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
• 4.7 (p39): “From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.”
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
• 2.13 – 2.17 (p11-13): “What services are affected by the Disability Discrimination Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.”
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
• 5.23 (p71): “For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible should include … accessible websites.”
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
• 5.26 (p68): “For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible should include … accessible websites.”
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
Have any website owners been successfully prosecuted?
• In the UK all cases of website inaccessibility have settled outside of court
• Probably because of:– Negative Publicity– High Cost of legal proceedings– Low cost of legal compliance
• The Sydney Olympics were fined Aus$20,000 under the Australian DDA, very similar to the UK DDA
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
Aside from the legal obligation
• There is a clear moral case
• There is also a very strong business case– Increase Market Share and Audience Reach– Improve usability for non-disabled and
disabled visitors– Improve Search Engine listings– Reduce site maintenance– Demonstrate Social Responsibility
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
The Business Case
• 8.5 million of the UK population have with some form of disability (source: ONS).
• 2 million of the UK population have some for of sight problem (source: RNIB).
• £40-50 billion - The combined estimated spending power of disabled people (source: Employers Forum on Disability).
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
Is my Website Accessible?
• Website Accessibility is a “sliding scale”
• Automated accessibility assessments can only test some aspects - manual checking is required to get a true idea of a website’s accessibility
• Please contact MicroAngelo to discuss your website’s accessibility
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
Costs
• Producing a website in an accessible way costs no more than producing a website in an inaccessible way, and can save money in the long term due to reduced update costs
• Some aspects of an accessible website can only be implemented in the design phase – you cannot retro-fit them into an inaccessible website
• Attempting to retro-fit website accessibility is not cost effective
www.MicroAngelo.co.uk
How can I make sure my website will be accessible?
• Choose your web development company carefully.
• Very few web development companies have the expertise to create an accessible website.
• There is no recognised industry certification or accreditation to differentiate between web development companies.