“The high cost of digital discrimination: why companies should care about web accessibility”, 31 Dec 2015

Every few months, a new lawsuit involving internet accessibility pops up…A 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center found that…4.7 million American adults, said they suffered from a disability or illness that made it difficult or impossible for them to use the internet…The US Department of Justice (DOJ), citing the Americans with Disabilities Act, has sued and negotiated millions of dollars in settlements with big brands such as Target, Disney and Netflix, for not designing their websites to accommodate the browsing needs of disabled customers…The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), enacted in 1990, requires most consumer-facing businesses, such as restaurants, hotels, hospitals and museums, to accommodate disabled people.  At that time, the internet was still under development.  However, the growth of online commerce has forced the government to figure out how to enforce the law in the virtual marketplace…Companies that fail to design accessibility into their digital experiences face a very real risk of reduced revenues, lost customers and a damaged reputation that can be hard to measure…[Refers to Carnival, H&R Block, National Basketball Association and Ahold]