Civil Rights Division Pushes for Internet Accessibility

posted on Apr 23 by Nadia in the Disability Discrimination, Disability Law, Opinion and Discussion category

The Civil Rights Division of the House Judiciary panel continues to push for accessibility on the internet for Americans with disabilities. The division has worked hard to ensure that state and local governments and public accommodations websites comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and are accessible by assistance technology, such as text readers or Braille displays, which convert text to Braille for blind web users.

“As public servants entrusted with the welfare of our citizens, we in the federal government must provide the leadership to make certain that individuals with disabilities are not excluded from the virtual world in the same way that they were historically excluded from ‘brick and mortar’ facilities,” Samuel R. Bagenstos, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights said in testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights and civil liberties. “If we are not careful, as technology becomes more sophisticated the gap will grow wider, and people with disabilities will have less access to our public life.