Disabled access law does not cover web sites, says federal court

Robert Gumson, who is visually impaired, and disability rights group Access Now sued Southwest Airlines, after Gumson discovered that their web sites were not compatible with his screen-reading program which converts web site content to speech.

Gumson and Access One claimed that, under a broad interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the internet is a "public accommodation". Therefore, businesses should be required to make their web sites accessible to the disabled, just as they do with their brick-and-mortar facilities.

However, US District Judge Patricia Seitz on Friday rejected their argument, reasoning that the US Disabilities Act only applies to "physical spaces", such as restaurants and cinemas. She found that "the plain and unambiguous language of the statute and relevant regulations does not include internet web sites among the definitions of 'places of public accommodation'."

The judge also characterised Gumson's argumentation as "emotionally attractive" but not "legally viable." She concluded that Gumson was "unable to demonstrate" that Southwest's web site impeded his access to "physical, concrete" places such as an airline ticket counter or travel agency, and she closed the case.

In the UK, the Disability Discrimination Act does apply to web sites and requires them to be accessible to the visually impaired, but to date it has not been tested in court. You can find out more about the UK position in our article, Disabled access to web sites under UK law.

More information about the Americans with disabilities act is available from:
www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

The full text of the US decision can be found at:
www.flsd.uscourts.gov/viewer/viewer.asp?file=/cases/opinions/02CV21734d24.pdf