Two separate reports found federal and state websites deficient in providing public access to information.
Earlier this week, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) doubled down on his call for better access to federal websites for the disabled, after the Department of Justice released data on access to those sites for the first time in more than a decade. The Section 508 Report to Congress and the president found more than half (55%) of the federal website audited required remediation to correct deficiencies in their accessibility statements. Accessibility statements include contact information, a way for visitors to provide feedback and the date the page was last updated.
Casey said the report reinforced his previous charges that disabled Americans are being locked out of government services because they are denied access to federal websites.
“Unfortunately, after a decade of keeping the public in the dark, the Department of Justice has not provided Americans with disabilities insight into what progress has been made over that time period—which will make it harder for the federal government to remedy these issues and ultimately improve web and technology accessibility,” Casey said in a statement. “It’s clear that the federal government has a lot more work to do to make technology accessibility and transparency a priority and fulfill our promise to Americans with disabilities, older adults, and veterans.”
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the federal government to make all its information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Casey called on the DOJ to conduct audits every two years and provide the public with more transparency.
Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York investigated public websites in 50 states, the District of Columbia and five territories for treatment of COVID-19 options and found only three were easy to understand.
In a research letter published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open. The researchers noted “uptake of [COVID-19] treatments is suboptimal and inequitable” and may be remedied with better access through national guidelines on accessibility and readability.
