Ask HN: Should the ADA Apply to Software? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Should the ADA Apply to Software?

4 pointsefitz4 comments

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses to make reasonable accommodations for people with physical limitations such as requiring wheelchairs.

Most of the software I encounter is not very accommodating (‘accessible’) to people who have sight problems or difficulty operating “standard” controls like keyboards, mice, or touch screens. Some cases are intentionally abusive and disproportionately affect such people, such as pop-ups and ads which intentionally obfuscate controls like close buttons, reducing contrast in size to the point that even people without disabilities have difficulty operating them.

Should we change the law so that people can sue software makers who failed to make their software accessible?

> Should we change the law so that people can sue software makers who failed to make their software accessible?

With appropriate dispensations for non-commercial, entertainment, contracted production, and small businesses, I think it would be a good thing. I'm not sure that having all those holes wouldn't make such a law meaningless though. I'm also not sure that the largest and wealthiest companies wouldn't lobby to get legislation raising the barrier to entry and making the software ecosystem that much worse than it already is. Brain-computer interfaces and other advances (eye/motion tracking, non-invasive brain/nerve/muscle-monitoring sensors, voice input, etc) might make all this inconsequential if they end up coming to fruition, too.

For comparison, there's the European Web Accessibility Directive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Accessibility_Directive

What it means in practice is that publicly funded websites have an accessibility report somewhere right next to the other legalese, where they list how well they meet the various requirements, which is often "not very".

Yes. Could be us needing the help at any time too.

We can all start by asking, "What if it were me?" and go from there to do a lot of good ahead of some law, maybe even prevent it.

yes.

only reason to even think it's not is silicon valley exceptionalism

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