Our readers know that private lawsuits against companies asserting website accessibility claims under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) have skyrocketed in recent years. To curtail this increase in online accessibility cases, a United States congressman recently introduced a bill that would amend the ADA to require individuals to complete several steps before commencing a private civil action. Below, we discuss the bill in detail and its implications for future website accessibility lawsuits.
What Does the Online Accessibility Bill Do?
Cited as the “Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act” (the “Online Accessibility Bill”), the Online Accessibility Bill clearly is aimed at redressing the rise in private ADA lawsuits. As proposed in the bill, individuals must exhaust the administrative remedies listed below before commencing a civil action against a “consumer facing website” or “mobile application,” as defined in the Online Accessibility
