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WAI Resource: Policies Related to Web Accessibility -- Working Draft

Introduction | Document Status | Discussion | Index  | Policy References
 
Judy Brewer

Last updated January 21, 1999

Introduction:

In the context of the regulatory world, the World Wide Web is a relatively new phenomena. Consequently there are still relatively few laws, regulations, or policies which explicitly address the internet and the Web, and fewer that specifically address Web accessibility. However, there are policies which in some way impact on the accessibility of information technologies and information services; and there is an increasing trend to require accessibility of the internet and the Web as these acquire an increasingly pivotal role in society.

While regulation is not the only motivator for Web accessibility, it can be a powerful one. (Other motivators, such as marketplace demographics or universal design carry-over benefits, will be addressed in other WAI materials.) The information here provides a starting point to locating relevant laws, regulations, policies, and government standards and/or guidelines which have some bearing on Web accessibility, as well as information about efforts to initiate related policies. It is being compiled as a public resource by the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG).

This page is not intended to provide legal advice. If you have questions about the applicability of the referenced laws to specific situations, please be aware that W3C does not provide legal advice on matters of Web accessibility. We would however be interested to know the outcome of any inquiries related to the materials on these pages.

Document Status:

This is a W3C Working Draft for review by W3C members and other interested parties. It is a draft document and may be updated, replaced or obsoleted by other
documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use W3C Working Drafts as reference material or to cite them as other than "work in progress". This is work in
progress and does not imply endorsement by, or the consensus of, either W3C or members of the WAI Education & Outreach Working Group (EOWG). Please address any corrections or additions to the attention of the WAI EOWG.

Discussion:

While there are a number of possible ways to regulate the accessibility of information technologies, these generally fall into three categories. A government can establish that individuals with disabilities have a right to certain kinds of information; a government can require that certain kinds of products or services sold within a country must meet certain criteria for accessibility; or a government can require that information technologies and information services procured by certain entities, such as government agencies, must be accessible.

While we most often see the first approach -- establishing access to certain kinds of information by individuals with disabilities as a civil right, such as in Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom -- sometimes we see combinations of these approaches, or, as in the United States, all three approaches used at once. As the Web becomes an increasingly important medium for education, employment, commerce, civic participation, and recreation, the trend is towards more requirements for this technology to be universally accessible, including to people with disabilities who constitute a significant part of every country's population.

Index:

References in this document are organized alphabetically by country, and chronologically within the country. [Legislative citations will be filled in as the draft is completed.]
  1. Australia
    1. New South Wales
  2. Canada
  3. France
  4. Portugal
  5. Thailand
  6. United States of America
  7. United Kingdom

Policy References:

Australia

Canada

France

Portugal

Thailand

United Kingdom

United States of America

Other Countries?

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