On December 26, 2017, the Department of Justice (DOJ) unsurprisingly, formally announced its withdrawal of two (2) of its Advanced Notices of Proposed Rule-making (ANPRM) that relates to web accessibility; one that falls under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that applies to state and local governments and the other under Title III which applies to private businesses that provide services or goods to the public.

According to the notice posted in the Federal Register, the reason for this withdrawal is to access whether promoting these regulations about the accessibility of web information and services is “necessary and appropriate.”  The DOJ states that an evaluation “will be informed by [an] additional review of data and further analysis.” What this means is that the DOJ “will continue to assess whether specific technical standards are necessary and appropriate to assist covered entities with complying with the ADA.”

This withdrawal comes after the decision in July 2017 to place the Title III regulations on the “inactive list” and halts the initial ANPRM efforts released in 2010.

The Accessible Future for Website Owners

The main takeaway from the retraction of the ANPRMs for owners/operators of websites is continued uncertainty as to the federal benchmarks that they must meet to comply with the ADA. The court will continue to lack federal guidance regarding any legal standards and judicial opinions will not be consistent between jurisdictions for the determinable future.

Only the DOJ and time will tell when and if regulations concerning the accessibility of web information will be implemented. Until then, businesses will continue to brace themselves against legal action from what is essentially the “wild west” of web accessibility.

For information about protecting businesses from web accessibility lawsuits (title III), please visit https://adotpro.com/