The first review of the AODA’s Information and communications Standards became public in 2020. In this review, the AODA Information and Communications Standards Development Committee outlines improvements to make information and communications accessible for people with disabilities by 2025. The Committee recommends changes to the Information and Communications Standards, to identify, remove, and prevent accessibility barriers in information. In addition, the Committee recommends an alternative system for developing, updating, and enforcing AODA standards. This new system would affect the Information and Communications Standards, as well as other existing and future standards. This article will discuss the Committee’s recommendations for revoking exemptions to web accessibility.
Revoking Exemptions to Web Accessibility
Under the Information and Communications Standards, organizations must make their websites, including web-based apps, accessible. Organizations must do so by making their websites compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This requirement applies to large private sector organizations, as well as public sector organizations with:
Organizations must ensure the accessibility of any web content that they own. In addition, any content that they do not own, but have control over as a third party, must also be accessible. However, the Standards include many exemptions allowing organizations to minimize their web accessibility. The Committee finds that these exemptions are confusing or no longer needed. As a result, the Committee recommends revoking the exemptions.
“Significantly Refreshed” Web Content
Organizations must make web content compliant with WCAG if it is new or “undergoing a significant refresh”. However, the Standards do not provide a clear definition of “significant refresh”. As a result, organizations can find ways to avoid making their web content accessible. For example, an organization can update its whole website slowly over time, in small sections. The update of each section may not qualify as a significant refresh. Consequently, organizations can renew their websites without ensuring compliance with WCAG.
Therefore, the Committee recommends updating the Standards to mandate WCAG compliance for all web content that an organization:
- Updates
- Changes
- Adds
Furthermore, when organizations make these changes, updates, or additions, incentives should encourage them to make more of their websites WCAG compliant. In addition, the Standards could specify or provide examples of content that must be accessible, including:
- Functions
- Interactions
- Branding (look and feel)
Content that is “Not Practicable”
Likewise, organizations do not need to make parts of websites accessible if doing so is “not practicable”. For instance, if tools or software are available to make a web element accessible, organizations must do so. In contrast, if these tools or software are not available, organizations do not need to make that web element accessible.
However, the Standards do not provide further examples or definitions of what “practicable” means. As a result, organizations can easily choose not to comply with WCAG. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Standards should include a clear definition of “not practicable”. Moreover, this definition should align with the concept of undue hardship in the Ontario Human Rights Code (the Code). Organizations claiming undue hardship must prove that they cannot fulfill their obligations under the Code, either because:
- Their business could not afford to comply
- Compliance would harm the health or safety of people with disabilities
Without this proof, organizations must follow the Code.
A definition of “not practicable” aligned with undue hardship would require organizations to prove that web accessibility was not practicable for them. Without this proof, organizations would no longer be exempt from following WCAG.
Web Content Posted Before 2012
Similarly, the Standards do not require organizations to make web content posted before 2012 accessible. Consequently, some organizations are reusing this non-compliant content on new websites. On the other hand, some organizations would like to make pre-2012 content accessible on their new websites, but cannot afford to. As a result, these organizations are removing this content from their websites.
Therefore, the Committee recommends exempting only archived or historical content. The Standards could include rules for this exemption, like the Federal Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada archived content policy. Under these rules, only specific content would remain non-compliant with WCAG. In contrast, these rules would require all other pre-2012 content to comply, including:
Intranet and Extranet Websites
Finally, the Standards currently exempt intranet and extranet websites from compliance with WCAG. Intranet websites are sites within an organization’s network, that only its employees have access to. Extranet websites are websites requiring users to log in. The Committee states that this exemption is no longer necessary. Therefore, the Committee recommends that the Standards require all intranet and extranet websites to comply with WCAG.