A New World Of ADA Cyber-Discrimination Claims

Websites, mobile apps and point-of-sale devices, like debit card readers, have become the subject of ADA claims, and the Department of Justice has entered the fray on the side of  plaintiffs. In once case, H&R Block has been targeted because its website is not accessible to people with various disabilities, including blindness. The DOJ entered the case even though it has not defined standards for website accessibility. In another case, a blind person sued because he was unable to input his PIN number into a POS (point-of-sale) device. Seyfarth Shaw attorney Minh N. Vu looks at recent cases and warns that a DOJ  contention – that devices need to be accessible even where no standards have been promulgated – could be extended to public establishments with various kinds of self-service equipment, including beverage dispensing machines and kiosks, used for ticketing, rental and check in.