Comment Read The ruling (Score 1) 709
Taking some time, I read the ruling, and for a large site such as Target, they deserved it. First the DRA (Disabily Rights Activist) tried to reason with Target, which in return Target dismissed them. From the ruling:
The plaintiffs originally filed the complaint in Alameda superior court on February 7, 2006. The case was removed to federal district court and assigned to Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Target responded to the suit by filing a motion to dismiss the case, which argued in part that no civil rights laws apply to the Internet.
"We tried to convince Target that it should do the right thing and make its website accessible through negotiations," said Dr. Maurer. "It is unfortunate that Target took the position that it does not have to take the rights of the blind into account. The ruling in this case puts Target and other companies on notice that the blind cannot be treated like second class citizens on the Internet or in any other sphere."
Another interesting note is that if you are blind, you can't access the site at all, well some, but you would not even be able to purchase anything. From the ruling again:
The plaintiffs originally filed the complaint in Alameda superior court on February 7, 2006. The case was removed to federal district court and assigned to Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Target responded to the suit by filing a motion to dismiss the case, which argued in part that no civil rights laws apply to the Internet.
"We tried to convince Target that it should do the right thing and make its website accessible through negotiations," said Dr. Maurer. "It is unfortunate that Target took the position that it does not have to take the rights of the blind into account. The ruling in this case puts Target and other companies on notice that the blind cannot be treated like second class citizens on the Internet or in any other sphere."
Target is a big company, and therefore has a responibilty to all demographics, even the disabled. Making a site compliant is not very difficult, in fact a big part is just making ure there is a text only alternative to images, and to use text as much as possible. This does no require a complete site redesign, only some minor tweaking, unless it is flash based,even then there are work-arounds. Not every site will be sued, only those that chose to deny those unable to access there site due to disabilities.
And yeh thats it
The plaintiffs originally filed the complaint in Alameda superior court on February 7, 2006. The case was removed to federal district court and assigned to Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Target responded to the suit by filing a motion to dismiss the case, which argued in part that no civil rights laws apply to the Internet.
"We tried to convince Target that it should do the right thing and make its website accessible through negotiations," said Dr. Maurer. "It is unfortunate that Target took the position that it does not have to take the rights of the blind into account. The ruling in this case puts Target and other companies on notice that the blind cannot be treated like second class citizens on the Internet or in any other sphere."
Another interesting note is that if you are blind, you can't access the site at all, well some, but you would not even be able to purchase anything. From the ruling again:
The plaintiffs originally filed the complaint in Alameda superior court on February 7, 2006. The case was removed to federal district court and assigned to Judge Marilyn Hall Patel. Target responded to the suit by filing a motion to dismiss the case, which argued in part that no civil rights laws apply to the Internet.
"We tried to convince Target that it should do the right thing and make its website accessible through negotiations," said Dr. Maurer. "It is unfortunate that Target took the position that it does not have to take the rights of the blind into account. The ruling in this case puts Target and other companies on notice that the blind cannot be treated like second class citizens on the Internet or in any other sphere."
Target is a big company, and therefore has a responibilty to all demographics, even the disabled. Making a site compliant is not very difficult, in fact a big part is just making ure there is a text only alternative to images, and to use text as much as possible. This does no require a complete site redesign, only some minor tweaking, unless it is flash based,even then there are work-arounds. Not every site will be sued, only those that chose to deny those unable to access there site due to disabilities.
And yeh thats it
