International accessibility news roundup
Our monthly roundup of what is happening in the world of internet accessibility.
As the news comes through that the United State’s Supreme Court has refused to hear Domino’s Pizza’s petition to stop the case against them for lack of website accessibility, ALHAUS takes a look at some of the other news relating to internet access for those with disabilities.
Here are this month’s top picks:
United States: Website accessibility claims on the rise, a higher education perspective
Karel Mazanec and Nicholas M. Reiter
According to some estimates, the number of website accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court nearly tripled from 2017 to 2018, and there is no indication that this trend is slowing in 2019. Businesses across a wide spectrum of industries have reported exponential increases in the number of demand letters they received threatening suit over the accessibility of their organisation websites.
Free Chrome plugin checks web content accessibility
Dian Schaffhauser
User1st has introduced a free plugin for Google Chrome that helps users identify web content that isn't accessible. The uTester Developer Plugin specifically highlights content that doesn't comply with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.
UK: Public sector website accessibility regulations come into force
Mark Say
New accessibility regulations have come into force for public sector websites. It initially applies to all new sites – those launched on or after 23 September 2018 – and will apply older ones from the same date of next year. The compliance date for mobile applications has been set for 23 June 2021.
Volusion partners with accessiBe to ensure Ecommerce is accessible for everyone
Volusion
Volusion, the leading ecommerce platform built specifically for small- and medium-sized businesses, today announced a partnership with accessiBe, the premier AI-automated solution for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) website compliance. Volusion and accessiBe will work together to offer an easy-to-implement, ADA compliant solution for the ecommerce company's 20,000+ customers.
Researchers are making memes accessible to the blind
Chris Stokel-Walker
Scroll through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok and you’ll find them littered with memes, coded images, and in-jokes utilizing pop culture references. Now imagine you’re blind. How would you see and understand them?
That’s a challenge that researchers at Carnegie Mellon University are trying to tackle. In a recent paper titled “Making Memes Accessible,” the group trained a system to classify and parse memes with up to 92% accuracy, making it possible for visually impaired users to share the joke, too.
If you’d like your content to be more accessible, get in touch with our team at ALHAUS for expert advice. Contact us now to find out how we can help you.