Access to the Internet is increasingly critical for health information retrieval, access to certain government benefits and services, an array of commercial and social services that directly impact health, and connectivity to friends and family members. However, a lack of universal web accessibility requirements hinders access for older adults and people with disabilities.
Current web accessibility requirements need to be extended beyond government organizations to include private groups and organizations, according to a new study by Health Administration and Policy Associate Professor Y. Tony Yang. The study is published in The Gerontologist, a journal of The Gerontological Society of America.
According to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey on older adults and technology use, 59 percent of adults 65 and older use the Internet, and 37 percent of adults 80 and older access the Internet. Senior Americans are the fastest growing group of Internet users; however, their ability to access the Internet can be hindered by vision impairment, dexterity issues, cognitive difficulties, and hearing impairments.
Some federal laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, section 255 of the Telecommunications Act, and sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, help improve web accessibility for older adults and people with disabilities. In addition, a large majority of states have established executive policies or legislation regarding web accessibility using federal laws as well as guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium as a basis for the requirements.
However, as Yang points out, private entities are typically exempt from federal and state standards and requirements regarding web accessibility. As a result, those people may not be able to easily access various resources on the Internet.
Yang examines how web accessibility standards in the United States compare to those internationally, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ontario where requirements have been extended to include private entities. The United Kingdom enacted the Equality Act in 2010, which “protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society.” The act requires private web site owners to make website content accessible to people with disabilities. In Ontario, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act requires that all government agencies and large, private sector companies make web content accessible for people with disabilities. All new content must immediately be accessible, and previously published content must be made accessible by 2021.
Yang recommends three conditions that should be put into place to ensure web accessibility for older adults and people with disabilities: 1) that new laws or policies involving web accessibility should incorporate the latest version of the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines; 2) state lawmakers should consider requiring compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act; and 3) policymakers should examine the broader approaches to web accessibility implemented in the United Kingdom and Ontario and expand requirements to private web sites.
“Policymakers should look at web accessibility approaches taken by Ontario and the United Kingdom as both jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring private web site owners, under certain circumstances, to implement accessibility features on their web sites,” Yang said. “Older adults and people with disabilities in the United States will not have equal access to goods and services unless policymakers take steps to apply web accessibility laws to private businesses.”