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Web Accessibility for the Blind: Balancing Corporate Social Responsibility and Legal Risks

This paper explores the critical issue of web accessibility for the blind, focusing on the tension between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the risk of litigation. With 45 million blind individuals worldwide and 1.3 million in the US, ensuring web accessibility is imperative. The research highlights the complexities of website design, the inadequacies of popular accessibility tools, and the varying corporate responses to legal threats. Through case studies, including actions taken by Target Corporation, it elucidates the necessity for businesses to adopt proactive measures in web accessibility to accommodate users with disabilities.

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Web Accessibility for the Blind: Balancing Corporate Social Responsibility and Legal Risks

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  1. Web Accessibility for the Blind: Corporate Social Responsibility or Litigation Avoidance? Jonathan Frank Suffolk University Boston, MA

  2. Background • 45m. blind individuals worldwide • 1.3m. blind individuals in US (0.48% pop.) • Web Accessibility Guidelines & Laws • Lawsuits

  3. Text Browser & Screen Reader

  4. Previous Work on Web Accessibility • Frustrated and annoyed blind users [Lazar et al, 2004] • Time-oriented accessibility ignored [Takagi 2004] • Website increasing complexity [Zeng et al 2004] • Developers use syntactical checking [Mankoff 2005] • Lack of training, client support, confusing guidelines, inadequate software tools [Lazar et al, 2004]

  5. Corporate Social Responsibility

  6. CSR Postures • Reactive • Defensive • Accommodative • Proactive

  7. CSR Propensity +/- Product/ Service Type + Website Accessibility (CSR Posture) Perceived Litigation Threat + + Time - Web Media Complexity + Model

  8. Measuring Accessibility • Enabling people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web” [Henry 2006] • Limitation of popular tools • Alternative approach -- aDesigner – IBM • navigability and listenability metrics

  9. Sample

  10. Method • Wayback Machine • Initially sampled 1st occurrence of homepage 4/03, 2/06, & 6/07

  11. Declining Accessibility

  12. Target Corp Improves Accessibility

  13. Worst Accessibility 2007

  14. Best Accessibility 2007

  15. Gains in Accessibility after Target Case Begins(Feb-06 to Jun-07)

  16. Retailers’ reaction to the Target case

  17. CSR Propensity & Accessibility

  18. Regression results t=1,2…7 Anova of Betas

  19. Conclusions

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