Title: Research and find a different company in the news for not meeting accessibility standards
Time: 15-20 minutes
Purpose:
To explore real-world consequences of not meeting accessibility standards. By researching a company that made headlines for accessibility issues, you’ll better understand the risks and impact poor accessibility can have.
Activity:
- Find a company in the news for failing to meet accessibility standards.
- Look for information such as:
- What the company failed to do (e.g. no alt text, inaccessible forms, lack of captions)
- Who was affected (e.g. screen reader users, deaf users)
- What the consequences were (e.g. legal action, fines, public backlash, brand damage)
- Share a link to the article and write two or three sentences explaining what the company failed to do.
This is about the New York-based Accessibility Company, accessiBe, which was asked to pay a fine for using its AI-based accessibility tool to mislead people with its accessibility reports for websites.
What the company failed to do: This company failed to do what it was expected to do, i.e., audit the website genuinely. It manipulates the website’s report to make it appear accessible to all, whereas those websites were actually inaccessible.
Who was affected: People with all kinds of disabilities were affected, as it misrepresents the report to show that websites were accessible to all kinds of people.
What the consequences were (e.g., legal action, fines, public backlash, brand damage): This company was asked to pay $ 1 million as a fine by the Federal Trade Commission.
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-order-requires-online-marketer-pay-1-million-deceptive-claims-its-ai-product-could-make-websites