This year’s 4th Annual Digital Accessibility Legal Summit brings together members of the accessibility and legal fields to address the frequent “Yes it does” / “No it doesn’t” back and forth legal and policy arguments on whether the ADA covers websites and other digital content.
ARLINGTON, VA, Sept. 23, 2022—Over thirty years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), there is still a difference of opinion from courts, and there is a lack of definitive legislation from the US government, on whether the web is covered. This situation has kept plaintiff and defendant lawyers busy in recent years, as people with disabilities bring discrimination lawsuits against companies, alleging denial of their rights to information and services.
Bringing together lawyers, accessibility testing professionals, policymakers, and industry representatives, the annual Digital Accessibility Legal Summit (Online, November 1st and 2nd, 2022) provides a unique forum for debate and discussion of solutions to the most important questions currently on the table.
After so long, definitively answering / resolving the website and ADA question is imperative. But, just around the corner, a new set of digital accessibility legal issues are emerging. New technologies are beginning to impact all of our lives. If the needs of people with disabilities are overlooked, the lawyers will inevitably stay busy in coming years. The Summit addresses the current issues on day one, and the emerging issues on day two.
- The keynote speech is by Doug Towne, CEO of Access Ready, Inc., a nonprofit, cross disability advocacy organization with a concentration on accessible information and communications technologies.
- The day one talks on the applicability of the web to the ADA address why 181 disability organizations signed a letter to the Department of Justice in early 2022; what we have learned from long running ‘saga’ court cases (Gil vs. Winn-Dixie, and Robles vs. Domino’s).
- The day two talks address emerging legal issues in augmented and virtual reality; automated / self-driving vehicles; unattended retail locations; accessibility results reporting; and voting infrastructure.
About the Digital Accessibility Legal Summit
Now in its fourth year, the Digital Accessibility Legal Summit (DALS) was convened in 2019 to bring together leading accessibility testing professionals and legal practitioners to discuss strategies and options in response to lawsuits. Increasingly through the 2010s, lawsuits—alleging service discrimination harming people with disabilities—were brought against companies based on their websites, mobile apps, and other digital content. Since its inception, DALS has brought together plaintiff and defendant lawyers on the same stage to bring important concerns to light. Speakers and panelists offer practical solutions to businesses on their accessibility and inclusive practices, and advice on how to improve their responses to legal actions. The content from each Summit is published by Fastcase, biennially, as “The Digital Accessibility Legal Digest”. DALS program, resources and contacts: www.accessibility.legal
About Accessibility Track Consulting, LLC
Through his company, Accessibility Track Consulting, LLC, Dr. Chris M. Law runs several innovative projects with and for the accessibility community. Accessibility Track was founded in 2015 to improve the accessibility testing of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and organizational/business infrastructures to support accessibility programs. Accessibility Track’s annual Digital Accessibility Legal Summit and annual ICT Accessibility Testing Symposium bring together professionals to disseminate solutions and debate pressing issues in the quest for accessible technologies. In the summer of 2022, together with members of the accessibility community, Dr. Law launched a new nonprofit to produce industry consensus standards for accessibility test results reporting. Contact Dr. Chris M. Law at accessibilitytrack.com/contact