Was Blind but Now I See: The Argument for ADA Applicability to the Internet

Abstract

This Note argues that the "public accommodations" provision of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Internet. A broad reading of the public accommodation clause in Title III in conjunction with the supporting case law and the statute's legislative history suggests that public accommodations are not limited to physical structures. Therefore, Internet companies that do not provide software compatible with the technology that visually disabled people use to access the Internet are liable for violating the ADA. The Note concludes with a summary of the first litigation on this issue between the National Federation of the Blind and America Online which was settled in July of 2000.