The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a US civil rights law enacted
in 1990 that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in
employment, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and
telecommunications. While the ADA predates the web, it has been interpreted
and applied to websites and mobile applications through litigation and
regulatory guidance.
[1]
Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by
places of public accommodation — businesses and organisations that serve
the public. Courts and the Department of Justice have increasingly taken the
position that websites operated by public accommodations fall within the
scope of Title III, requiring them to be accessible to people with disabilities.
[2]
Robles v. Domino's Pizza (2019) — The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled that Domino's website and mobile app must comply with the ADA because
they are a nexus to the physical restaurant. The Supreme Court declined to
hear the appeal in October 2019, effectively upholding the ruling.
Gil v. Winn-Dixie (2017) — A federal court in Florida ruled that
Winn-Dixie's website must be accessible, finding it sufficiently connected
to the physical stores to fall under Title III.
These cases, among hundreds of others, established a litigation environment
in which organisations with inaccessible websites face meaningful legal risk.
[3]
In April 2024 the Department of Justice issued a final rule under Title II
of the ADA establishing WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the technical standard for
state and local government websites and mobile applications. While this
directly applies to government entities, it signals the standard the DOJ
considers appropriate for ADA compliance more broadly.
ADA website accessibility lawsuits have been filed in significant numbers
since 2017. Filings peaked in 2022 before declining somewhat in subsequent
years, but remain at historically high levels. The most common targets
include e-commerce websites, hospitality, financial services, and healthcare.
[2]
The ADA does not specify a technical accessibility standard. However the
DOJ and most courts have endorsed WCAG 2.0 AA and WCAG 2.1 AA as appropriate
benchmarks in settlement agreements and consent decrees. Organisations
seeking to demonstrate ADA compliance typically target WCAG 2.1 AA as their
minimum standard.
Any organisation with a US customer base operating a website connected to
physical locations or providing services to the public faces potential ADA
exposure for inaccessible digital content. This includes:
Last edited Apr 7, 2026, 7:20 PM · P**** J****