The Department of Justice (Department) is considering revising the regulations implementing title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA or Act) in order to establish requirements for making the goods, services, facilities, privileges, accommodations, or advantages offered by public accommodations via the Internet, specifically at sites on the World Wide Web (Web), accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Department is also considering revising the ADA´s title II regulation to establish requirements for making the services, programs, or activities offered by State and local governments to the public via the Web accessible. The Department is issuing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) in order to solicit public comment on various issues relating to the potential application of such requirements and to obtain background information for the regulatory assessment the Department must prepare if it were to adopt requirements that are economically significant according to Executive Order 12866.
Summary
- The scope of the regulations would likely be limited to websites and web content within the control of the public accommodation.
- According to the DOJ, in most instances, removal of accessibility barriers would be neither difficult nor especially costly, and in most cases, providing accessibility would not result in changes to a site’s format or appearance.
- The DOJ proposes an effective date of six months for new websites and two years for existing websites.
- The DOJ is accepting comments on the ANPR until January 24, 2011 and will be holding a public hearing during the comment period.
More information can be found by visiting: http://www.ada.gov/anprm2010/web%20anprm_2010.htm