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Obama proposing to enchance access
July 26th, 2010
The Obama administration on Friday proposed trying to enhance access for people with disabilities to websites for hotels, retail stores and other public sites as well as improve access to movie theaters.
Most of the proposals are aimed primarily at improved access for the deaf and the blind.
With the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Monday, the Justice Department issued four proposals for public comment aimed at finding ways to keep up with advancing technologies so people with disabilities are not left behind.
“Just as these quantum leaps can help all of us, they can also set us back — if regulations are not updated or compliance codes become too confusing to implement,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
However, the proposals could draw criticism from the business community, which already has a rocky relationship with the Obama administration over issues including new regulations on the financial industry.
One key proposal focused on improving access for people with disabilities to websites of state and local governments as well as those sites of private businesses like restaurants, hotels and other commercial outlets.
Noting that the Internet has evolved substantially since the 1990 law went into effect, the department asked for comment on what resources are available to help those with disabilities access existing websites as well as what the costs would be for making them accessible.
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