The Royal National Institute for the Blind has confirmed that it
is assisting in the first UK court actions against companies whose
web sites do not comply with the Disability Discrimination Act,
according to a report at vnunet.com.
A spokeswoman for the RNIB told the publisher that the actions
were ongoing, but "at the moment we are not willing to talk about
the specific cases or details."
The Disability Discrimination Act was passed in 1995, and states
that it is unlawful for "a provider of services" to discriminate
against a disabled person. A subsequent Code of Practice issued in
February 2002 removed any doubt that the law covers on-line
services; but to date, there has been no enforcement action in the
UK.
The Disability Rights Commission is currently checking 1,000 web
sites across the public and private sectors, testing for basic
compliance with recognised industry accessibility standards. It is
expected to report its findings by the end of the year.
