Ethics

The articles in this topic discuss the ethics of digital accessibility and the digital accessibility legal space.

AudioEye Sues AccessiBe for Patent Infringement

Posted on Updated on October 31, 2022
On September 4, 2020, AudioEye, Inc. sued accessiBe, Ltd for patent infringement. The lawsuit between these two very well-funded digital accessibility companies was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas and reported in Justia Dockets and Filings. Read the September 4, 2020 complaint in AudioEye v. accessiBe. (An amended… Read more… AudioEye Sues AccessiBe for Patent Infringement

Case is Over! New Low in the Accessibility “Industry:” Overlay Company Sues Globally-Recognized Accessibility Expert

Posted on Updated on January 29, 2024
This is an article about a lawsuit filed by AudioEye, a multi-million dollar accessibility company, against Adrian Roselli, a long-time leader in the global digital accessibility community. Adrian has been a vocal critic, as have I, against one-line of code software that claims to make websites accessible. AudioEye sells (licenses) an overlay. The company has… Read more… Case is Over! New Low in the Accessibility “Industry:” Overlay Company Sues Globally-Recognized Accessibility Expert

Overlays and Ethics: a conference panel that hurt my heart

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Today is the first time I had to update an article before I posted it. The original article, which you’ll find below, is about a planned session at the Zero Project accessibility conference (#ZeroCon) in February. The session was organized by a member of the German chapter of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP).… Read more… Overlays and Ethics: a conference panel that hurt my heart

Legal Update: Accessibility Overlay Edition

Posted on Updated on December 7, 2023
This post originally shared four developments in the legal space about web accessibility overlays. Three are very troubling. One gives hope for stemming the tide of quick-fix “not-solutions” that can actually make websites less usable by people with disabilities. Updates add new content to the original four developments. New to the overlay issue? I first… Read more… Legal Update: Accessibility Overlay Edition

Two US Government Agencies Warn about Hiring Technology that Discriminates against Disabled Applicants

Posted on Updated on January 1, 2023
The unemployment rate for people with disabilities in the United States is at an unacceptable high rate. As the US Bureau of Labor Statistics stated in a February 2022 informational release: “Across all educational attainment groups, unemployment rates for persons with a disability were higher than those for persons without a disability.” Two new resources from the US federal government address one type of barrier to the employment of disabled people: Algorithmic and Artificial Intelligence (AI) hiring tools that discriminate. Read more… Two US Government Agencies Warn about Hiring Technology that Discriminates against Disabled Applicants

Professional development courses must be accessible: New lawsuit settlement in case against SHRM

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The Society of Human Relations Management (SHRM) describes itself as “the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With 300,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally.” Now, as a result of a lawsuit filed in… Read more… Professional development courses must be accessible: New lawsuit settlement in case against SHRM

U.S. Federal Appeals Court Slams Unethical ADA Practice

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On August 17, 2021 judges in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld sanctions against a Florida lawyer (Scott Dinin) and his client (Alexander Johnson) because of unethical conduct in cases brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and similar Florida law. Sanctions are a way that a court can punish lawyers and clients for bad behavior. In this case the sanctions included requiring Johnson and Dinin to pay money to a disability-based nonprofit or the court and preventing them from filing ADA cases without the court’s permission. Read more… U.S. Federal Appeals Court Slams Unethical ADA Practice

Ethics in the Digital Accessibility Legal Space: ADA Enforcement Cases or Something Else?

Posted on Updated on September 29, 2020
A 177% jump in the number of web accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court over two years. A handful of lawyers filing hundreds of cases, settling quickly, with no public statement about any accessibility improvements. Industry associations looking to roll-back the ADA, state legislatures limiting the right to sue about digital accessibility. So called experts… Read more… Ethics in the Digital Accessibility Legal Space: ADA Enforcement Cases or Something Else?