The Accessibility Legal Landscape

Digital accessibility is no longer just a best practice — it is increasingly a legal requirement. Around the world, legislation is expanding to cover websites, mobile applications, and digital services. The number of accessibility lawsuits has risen sharply, and organizations that ignore accessibility face both legal liability and reputational damage. Understanding the legal landscape helps you prioritize accessibility work, make the business case to stakeholders, and protect your organization from risk.

ADA Title II: State and Local Government Websites

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II covers state and local government entities. In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice published a final rule specifically requiring state and local government websites and mobile apps to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Key Details

• Who it applies to: State government agencies, county governments, city/town governments, public school districts, public universities, public libraries, public transportation agencies, courts, and any other entity that qualifies as state or local government
• Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA
• Deadline: April 2026 for entities with populations of 50,000 or more; April 2027 for smaller entities
• Scope: All web content and mobile applications, including documents, forms, videos, and third-party content that is integrated into the government entity's web presence
• Enforcement: DOJ enforcement actions, private lawsuits, and complaints to the Department of Justice

Source: Federal Register, April 24, 2024. Deadlines last verified February 2026.

ADA Title III: Public Accommodations

ADA Title III prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in places of public accommodation. While the ADA was written in 1990 before the modern web existed, courts have increasingly interpreted "places of public accommodation" to include websites, particularly when they are connected to a physical business.

Key Details

• Who it applies to: Private businesses that are open to the public — hotels, restaurants, retail stores, banks, healthcare providers, entertainment venues, educational institutions, and essentially any business that serves the public
• Standard: While the DOJ has not published a specific technical standard for Title III web accessibility, courts overwhelmingly reference WCAG 2.0 or 2.1 Level AA as the applicable standard
• No explicit deadline: Unlike Title II, there is no specific compliance deadline because there is no formal rule yet. However, the DOJ considers web accessibility a current obligation, and courts are ruling in favor of plaintiffs today.
• Enforcement: Primarily through private lawsuits and DOJ enforcement actions

Notable Case Law

Several landmark cases have shaped ADA Title III web accessibility law:

• Robles v. Domino's Pizza (2019) — The Ninth Circuit ruled that Domino's website and mobile app must be accessible under ADA Title III. The Supreme Court declined to hear Domino's appeal, letting the ruling stand.
• Gil v. Winn-Dixie (2021) — Initially found for the plaintiff, but the Eleventh Circuit reversed on appeal, ruling that a website alone is not a "place of public accommodation." This created a circuit split that may eventually be resolved by the Supreme Court or DOJ rulemaking.
• NAD v. Netflix (2012) — Netflix agreed to caption all streaming content after a lawsuit by the National Association of the Deaf, establishing that streaming services have accessibility obligations.

Section 508: U.S. Federal Government

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires all federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

• Who it applies to: All U.S. federal government agencies, and any organization that receives federal funding or provides technology to the federal government
• Standard: WCAG 2.0 Level AA (the Section 508 Refresh of 2017 adopted WCAG 2.0 as the standard)
• Scope: Websites, web applications, desktop software, mobile apps, electronic documents, hardware, and telecommunications products
• Enforcement: Internal agency processes, complaints to the agency, and lawsuits
• Procurement: Federal agencies must buy accessible technology. If you sell to the federal government, your product must be accessible and documented with a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template)

European Accessibility Act (EAA) and EN 301 549

The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882) is a sweeping piece of legislation that requires a wide range of products and services to be accessible across all EU member states.

Key Details

• Effective date: June 28, 2025, when member states must begin enforcing the directive
• Who it applies to: Businesses selling products and services in the EU, including: computers and operating systems, ATMs and payment terminals, e-commerce websites, banking services, transportation services (ticketing, check-in), e-books and e-readers, and telecommunications services
• Standard: EN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA for web content and adds additional requirements for software, hardware, and documentation
• Scope: Much broader than web-only. Covers hardware, software, and services
• Enforcement: Each EU member state designates enforcement authorities. Penalties vary by country.

Impact for International Businesses

If your product or service is available to customers in the EU, the EAA applies to you regardless of where your company is headquartered. This makes it effectively a global requirement for any business with European customers.

AODA: Ontario, Canada

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was one of the first laws in the world to set specific web accessibility deadlines.

• Who it applies to: All organizations in Ontario with 50 or more employees (private and public sector)
• Standard: WCAG 2.0 Level AA
• Deadline: Already in effect — organizations should already be compliant
• Enforcement: Financial penalties for non-compliance (up to $100,000 per day for organizations)

The Rise of Accessibility Lawsuits

The number of digital accessibility lawsuits in the United States has increased dramatically. According to industry reports, federal ADA-related digital accessibility lawsuits saw approximately a 20% increase in 2025 compared to the previous year, continuing a multi-year upward trend.

Key Trends

• Volume: Thousands of federal accessibility lawsuits are filed each year in the United States, with additional state-level claims
• Target industries: E-commerce and retail are the most commonly targeted industries, followed by food and beverage, entertainment, travel, banking, and healthcare
• Target size: Both large enterprises and small businesses are sued. Small businesses are sometimes preferred targets because they are more likely to settle quickly.
• Geographic concentration: New York and California account for the vast majority of filings, due to favorable state accessibility laws (New York Human Rights Law, California's Unruh Civil Rights Act)

Serial Plaintiffs and the Legal Industry

A significant portion of accessibility lawsuits are filed by a small number of serial plaintiffs and law firms. Some plaintiffs have filed hundreds or even thousands of lawsuits individually. This has created a cottage industry around accessibility litigation:

• Law firms specialize exclusively in accessibility demand letters and lawsuits
• Many cases result in quick settlements (typically $5,000–$25,000 for small businesses) without the defendant fixing the underlying issues
• Some serial plaintiffs use automated scanning tools to identify potential targets at scale
• The legal industry around accessibility lawsuits is controversial — critics argue it prioritizes financial settlements over actual remediation, while advocates argue it is necessary to drive compliance in the absence of strong enforcement

How to Reduce Your Legal Risk

A proactive approach to accessibility significantly reduces legal risk and demonstrates good faith. Here are the concrete steps organizations should take:

1. Proactive Testing

• Run automated accessibility scans regularly (CodeFrog, axe-core, Pa11y)
• Perform manual accessibility testing as part of your QA process
• Test with screen readers (VoiceOver, NVDA) at least quarterly
• Include accessibility in your CI/CD pipeline to catch regressions
• Test on localhost during development to catch issues before they reach production — this is exactly what CodeFrog is designed for

2. Remediation Plans

• Document known accessibility issues and prioritize them by severity
• Create a remediation roadmap with specific timelines
• Track progress and demonstrate steady improvement
• Having a documented remediation plan shows good faith if a legal claim arises

3. Accessibility Statements

Publish an accessibility statement on your website. A good accessibility statement includes:

• Your commitment to accessibility
• The WCAG standard you are targeting (typically WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA)
• Known limitations and areas where you are still working on compliance
• Contact information for users who encounter accessibility barriers
• The date the statement was last updated

4. VPAT/ACR Documents

A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) generates an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR). This document details how your product conforms (or does not conform) to each WCAG success criterion and Section 508 requirement.

• Required for selling to the U.S. federal government
• Increasingly requested by enterprise buyers, state governments, and educational institutions
• Demonstrates transparency about your product's accessibility status
• The ITI VPAT template is the standard format

5. Training and Culture

• Train developers, designers, and QA engineers on accessibility basics
• Include accessibility in code review checklists
• Make accessibility part of the definition of done for user stories
• Assign an accessibility champion or lead who stays current on standards and legal developments

Making the Business Case

Beyond legal risk, accessibility has genuine business benefits:

• Market reach: Over 1 billion people worldwide live with some form of disability. Inaccessible websites exclude potential customers.
• SEO benefits: Accessible websites tend to rank better because they have semantic HTML, proper heading structures, alt text, and good content organization — all of which search engines value.
• Improved usability: Accessibility improvements (clear labels, good contrast, keyboard navigation) benefit all users, not just those with disabilities.
• Brand reputation: Companies known for accessibility build trust and loyalty with customers and employees.
• Procurement requirements: Government agencies, educational institutions, and large enterprises increasingly require vendors to demonstrate accessibility compliance.