Americans with Disabilities Act, Title III
Key facts
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Sector
- Private sector
- Applies to
- Businesses and nonprofit organizations in the United States that are open to the public, such as stores, banks, hotels, restaurants, and medical offices, including the websites and apps they offer.
- Standard
- None named in a regulation; the Department of Justice points to WCAG as helpful guidance
What it requires
The U.S. Department of Justice says the ADA's rules for businesses open to the public apply to their websites. People with disabilities need to be able to use the goods, services, and information a business offers online.
No regulation names a technical standard for businesses. The Department says businesses have flexibility in how they meet the ADA, and it points to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Section 508 Standards as helpful guidance.
The Department lists the barriers it sees most often: poor color contrast, color used alone to give information, missing text alternatives for images, no captions on videos, online forms that do not work with assistive technology, and pages that only work with a mouse.
How it is enforced
The Department of Justice enforces Title III and accepts complaints. People can also bring private lawsuits. A review or accessibility statement does not guarantee protection from a claim.
Sources
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