Target case 'will not bring accessibility standards'

Category: Accessibility

September 15th 08, 10:26

The recent conclusion of a website accessibility lawsuit involving US retailer Target is unlikely to prompt the formation of a set of standards relating to the issue soon, it has been claimed.

Target settled the case, which was brought by a group of visually impaired web users who said they were unable to access the company's website with their screen-reading software, with a payment and a promise to change its site last month.

Speaking to Computerworld.com, spokesman for the US-based National Retail Federation Scott Krugman said that web accessibility standards should not be set by a single entity.

Rather, these guidelines should be developed by a number of different organisations and parties as e-commerce websites operate differently to each other, he explained.

"In a lot of cases, retailers are moving as fast as the technology is allowing them to. The [reader] technology is more advanced than the websites themselves," Mr Krugman stated.

"Retailers are certainly not looking to alienate their customer base."

A recent report in the Telegraph suggested that the Target case could prompt UK businesses to consider updating their own sites to be more accessible to disabled web users.

This news story was brought to you by Bluhalo, a leading UK digital agency.

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