[real-eyes] Re: Target Web Site and Accessibility
- From: "Ruthie" <ruthieville@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 7 Sep 2006 22:43:36 -0500
You know, I have to say that I have never had trouble navigating Target's
website. To me, it is already accessible. Now purina's cat food section?
That's another matter.
Ruthie and the Pumpkin Patch.
If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?
Visit www.ruthieville.com today for your daily dose of me.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Fettgather" <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 10:26 PM
Subject: [real-eyes] Target Web Site and Accessibility
> >PR Newswire
>>Thursday, September 07, 2006
>>
>>Legal Precedent Set for Web Accessibility
>
>>By SOURCE National Federation of the Blind
>
>>Federal Judge Sustains Discrimination Claims Against Target; Precedent
>>Establishes That Retailers Must Make Their Websites Accessible to the
>>Blind
>>Under the ADA
>>
>> BERKELEY, Calif., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A federal district court
>>judge ruled yesterday that a retailer may be sued if its website is
>>inaccessible to the blind. The ruling was issued in a case brought by the
>>National Federation of the Blind against Target Corp. (Northern District
>>of
>>California Case No. C 06-01802 MHP) The suit charges that Target's website
>>(
> http://www.target.com )
> is inaccessible to the blind, and therefore
>>violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the California Unruh
>>Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act. Target asked
>>the
>>court to dismiss the action by arguing that no law requires Target to make
>>its website accessible. The Court denied Target's motion to dismiss and
>>held that the federal and state civil rights laws do apply to a website
>>such as target.com.
>> The suit, NFB v. Target, was filed as a class action on behalf of all
>>blind Americans who are being denied access to target.com. The named
>>plaintiffs are the NFB, the NFB of California, and a blind college
>>student,
>>Bruce "BJ" Sexton.
>> The plaintiffs are represented by Disability Rights Advocates (
>>http://www.dralegal.org ), a Berkeley-based non-profit law firm that
>>specializes in high-impact cases on behalf of people with disabilities;
>>Brown, Goldstein & Levy (
> http://www.browngold.com ),
> a leading civil
>>rights law firm in Baltimore, Maryland; and Schneider & Wallace (
>>http://www.schneiderwallace.com ), a national plaintiff's class action and
>>civil rights law firm based in San Francisco, CA.
>> The court held: "the 'ordinary meaning' of the ADA's prohibition
>>against discrimination in the enjoyment of goods, services, facilities or
>>privileges, is that whatever goods or services the place provides, it
>>cannot discriminate on the basis of disability in providing enjoyment of
>>those goods and services." The court thus rejected Target's argument that
>>only its physical store locations were covered by the civil rights laws,
>>ruling instead that all services provided by Target, including its Web
>>site, must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
>> "This ruling is a great victory for blind people throughout the
>>country," said NFB President Dr. Marc Maurer. "We are pleased that the
>>court recognized that the blind are entitled to equal access to retail
>>websites."
>> Dr. Maurer explained that blind persons access websites by using
>>keyboards in conjunction with screen-reading software, which vocalizes
>>visual information on a computer screen.
>> Target's website contains significant access barriers that prevent
>>blind customers from browsing among and purchasing products online, as
>>well
>>as from finding important corporate information such as employment
>>opportunities, investor news, and company policies.
>> The plaintiffs charge that target.com fails to meet the minimum
>>standard of web accessibility. It lacks compliant alt-text, an invisible
>>code embedded beneath graphic images that allows screen readers to detect
>>and vocalize a description of the image to a blind computer user. It also
>>contains inaccessible image maps and other graphical features, preventing
>>blind users from navigating and making use of all of the functions of the
>>website. And because the website requires the use of a mouse to complete a
>>transaction, blind Target customers are unable to make purchases on
>>target.com independently.
>> 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."
>> Explaining the ramification of the ruling, Mazen M. Basrawi, Equal
>>Justice Works Fellow at Disability Rights Advocates, noted that: "the
>>court
>>clarified that the law requires that any place of public accommodation is
>>required to ensure that it does not discriminate when it uses the internet
>>as a means to enhance the services it offers at a physical location."
>> "I hope that I can soon shop online at Target.com just like anyone
>>else," said UC Berkeley student BJ Sexton, who is a named plaintiff in the
>>lawsuit. "I believe that millions of blind people like me can use the
>>Internet just as easily as do the sighted, if websites are accessible."
>> About the National Federation of the Blind
>> With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind
>> is
>>the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people
>>in
>>the United States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy,
>>education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
>>self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and
>>the voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the
>>National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research
>>and
>>training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
>>
>>SOURCE National Federation of the Blind
>
> Regards Steve
> Email:
> srp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Skype: steve1963
> MSN Messenger:
> internetuser383@xxxxxxxxxxx
>
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