Sec. 2. Findings and purposes
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Congress finds the following: Section 2(b)(1) of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (referred to in this Act as the ADA ) states that the Act provides a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities ( 42 U.S.C. 12101(b)(1) ). In 1990, web content and applications were essentially nonexistent, but Congress made clear that the ADA should keep pace with the rapidly changing technology of the times (H.R.
Rep. No. 101–485, pt. 2, at 381 (1990), as reprinted in 1990 U.S.C. C.A.N. 303, 391). Section 102 of the ADA ( 42 U.S.C. 12112 ), section 202 of the ADA ( 42 U.S.C. 12132 ), and section 302 of the ADA ( 42 U.S.C. 12182 ) broadly prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability in regard to employment; services, programs, or activities of public entities; and of goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, respectively.
The Department of Justice has promulgated regulations to address the intersection of the ADA and emerging technologies, including the obligation to ensure effective communication with and by individuals with disabilities by using technologies such as video remote interpreting, real-time computer-aided transcription, open and closed captioning, audio description, videophones, captioned telephones, screen reader software, optical readers, and telephone systems that interact properly with internet-based relay systems.
The Department of Justice has also promulgated regulations implementing section 202 of the ADA to establish specific requirements, including the adoption of specific technical standards, for making accessible the services, programs, and activities offered by public entities to the public through web content and applications. The activities of a vast number of ADA-covered entities now occur in whole or in part through web content and applications, a shift that was accelerated by a global pandemic.
The digital economy accounts for nearly 10 percent of the United States gross domestic product, and 85 percent of United States adults visit the internet at least once per day. Despite the ADA’s clear language covering all terms, conditions, and privileges of employment and certain actions of employers; all services, programs, and activities of public entities; and all goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of public accommodations, including when conducted through web content and applications, most web content and applications of entities covered by the ADA contain significant barriers for individuals with disabilities.
Consistent with Congress’ intention for the ADA to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, the Department of Justice has rightly acknowledged that the ADA requires covered entities to ensure that their web content and applications are accessible to individuals with disabilities. Some courts have misconstrued section 302 of the ADA, despite the clear language of the ADA’s provisions. Some courts have said that section 302 of the ADA only covers public accommodations that are physical places.
In addition, some courts have said that section 302 of the ADA only covers certain web content of public accommodations depending on the relationship between the web content and a physical place. The coverage of section 302 of the ADA is not limited to physical places. Section 302 of the ADA covers all web content and applications of public accommodations, regardless of whether the public accommodation is a physical place, and regardless of the relationship between web content or an application, and a physical place.
Without equal access to web content and applications, many individuals with disabilities are treated as second-class citizens and are excluded from equal participation in and equal access to all aspects of society. It is the purpose of this Act— to affirm that the ADA and this Act require that web content and applications used by any covered entity to communicate or interact with applicants, employees, participants, customers, or other members of the public be readily accessible to and useable by individuals with disabilities, whether the entity has a physical location or is digital only; to require the Department of Justice and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to set and enforce additional standards for web content (including electronic documents on websites) and applications and to periodically update such standards; to address and remedy the systemic nationwide problem of inaccessible web content and applications that exclude individuals with disabilities from equal participation in and equal access to all aspects of society; and to create effective mechanisms to respond to emerging technologies and to ensure that such technologies do not impair the rights and abilities of individuals with disabilities to participate in all aspects of society.
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