Assembly Bill (AB) 1757 is a piece of proposed legislation within California that imposes digital accessibility requirements on businesses.
As Jordan points out, AB 1757 entitles people with visual impairment or other disabilities to statutory damages if they can prove that a website or app had “caused them to experience a difference in their access to, or use of, the website as compared to other users.”
Basically, a person with sight loss for example – could file a lawsuit against a business that doesn’t have an accessible app or website. If that person is not able to purchase a product due to the website being inaccessible, then they may be able to seek damages.
Why I think AB 1757 is good news
Digital accessibility is super important. People with disabilities – in my view – have a right to the same stuff as everyone else.
The problem is that many businesses simply don’t think about disabled people. That’s not their fault – it’s simply a given that most people care about what they are familiar with. If you’re not familiar with disabled people you probably don’t think of them all that much.
When someone who does not have a disability walks into a hotel room, their first thought probably isn’t going to be about how inaccessible the thermostat is for visually impaired people, or how hard the towels will be to reach for someone who is in a wheelchair.
Not being aware of this stuff isn’t a bad thing. The truth is it isn’t relevant to many people. However, it should be taken into consideration at some point so for those of whom it does impact, it’s not a point of frustration.
The same is true online. Many people don’t think about screen readers day to day, but they should be considered every once in a while, to ensure that everyone can have a positive experience online.
In my view, what AB 1757 does is force companies to at least consider people with disabilities. In an ideal world, the Internet would be accessible but unfortunately, that’s just not reality.
I think requiring digital experiences to be accessible by law is honestly a good thing and genuinely does make a difference.
Does it slow down business? Sometimes. Do I think that is worthwhile considering the obvious upsides of a more accessible world? I would say so.
Why can’t we wait until businesses find their feet a bit?
It is much easier to consider accessibility from the start rather than trying to retrofit afterwards. Even if companies do consider accessibility at some point, it would be way better for everyone if disabled users were included from the get-go.
Facebook once had a mantra of “move fast and break things”, but is that really the best approach? Sometimes it is better to move at a reasonable pace and do things properly. I believe AB 1757 is a good way to encourage new businesses to take a bit more time to consider potential customers.
What more can we do?
Maybe there should be the likes of grants available to help small startups in ensuring they are accessible. We instead could start teaching more about inclusion to software engineers and designers within college to make it seem less daunting. I have no objection to anything like that, but I do think we need the digital accessibility legislation to protect the rights of those with disabilities.
Conclusion
Jordan McGillis raises some interesting points and while I disagree with him in some ways, there is no denying that many small business owners look at legislations like this as a pain.
What I would say to those businesses is this. Accessibility comes in many forms. If you try your best, most people with disabilities really appreciate that. Working with your customers is best practice anyway, so talk to your customers about becoming accessible.
Thank you so much Jordan for bringing up this interesting topic. We might not agree totally, but it’s great to have these conversations.
Vially Can Help
If you are ready to make your company more accessible, are unsure if your company complies with required laws, or just have questions you’d like answered, Vially is here to help
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