Just reading for the articles.
Playboy (yes, Playboy) has found themselves in an unlikely lawsuit. The company, primarily known for their “visuals,” has been sued by legally blind New Yorker, Donald Nixon. Nixon’s complaint is rooted in the argument that he, and others protected by the American Disabilities Act (ADA), are unable to fully and equally use or enjoy the websites Playboy.com and PlayboyShop.com.
The likelihood that Playboy’s online content will ever be “fully or equally” enjoyable for the visually impaired will remain a subjective issue, but Donald’s grievance is that his screen reading software is not fully functional on the sites. Thus, Playboy’s sites are not ADA compliant. While private businesses are not legally obligated to be ADA compliant, many enterprises are retooling their websites to become accessible to those with impairments.
And in case you didn’t know – this is NOT an isolated incident. Foot Locker, Brooks Brothers, and Kylie Jenner Cosmetics—among other entities, have been embroiled in lawsuits because of their lack of ADA compliance. Inclusion has become a significant hot-button issue with businesses and web developers across the country.
What is ADA web accessibility?
Under the American Disabilities Act, all government websites are legally responsible for being accessible to those with disabilities. For the visually impaired, ADA websites are designed to be compatible with screen readers that audibly dictate the contents of a site. Color blind individuals, require websites that provide enough contrast to ensure that all text is legible. For the hearing impaired, all videos will include captions. Lastly, flashing colors should be avoided to prevent potential seizures.
What Satori is doing about it.
Satori is working diligently to ensure our partners’ web presence is ADA compliant—both in the government arena and private sectors. When creating websites, we use the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the standard endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security for ADA compliance, as our ADA bible. In conjunction, we utilize applications to highlight accessibility problems, and always test the accessibility of our sites.
To many organizations, the task of ADA compliance may seem arduous, expensive, or even unimportant at the time; we cannot emphasize its importance for your site, enough! Save yourself money, time, and legal headaches in the future by investing in this best business practice, now. And together, we can make the internet more accessible for all.
Our final takeaway? For all businesses—Playboy especially, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to ADA compliance.