The United States Department of Justice has released guidance in the Federal Register that they are extending the deadline for compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act in Web and mobile content a full year, from 26th April 2026 to 26th April 2027. This may come as a relief to organisations struggling to comply, but it comes at a tremendous cost to those who rely on assistive technologies.
Compliance with these rules requires remediation. It sometimes requires full redesign of content and layouts. The federal rule was also announced in 2024, two years ago. I have zero sympathy for any organisation that failed to prioritise accessibility adequately in two full years. There are already carve-outs and exceptions for legacy content and for “unreasonable burden”. Get with the programme and make the WCAG part of your design requirements instead of an afterthought!
Accessibility in computing is not just a tickbox. It’s inclusive design. Technology is all around us and pervades all facets of our lives, so at this point, accessibility is about ensuring that all people, no matter their physical and mental ability, can participate in society at all. It pains me so much when people don’t take this seriously.
I am meticulous with my own blog, and the Web sites I control, that they conform to WCAG 2.1 AA and, where feasible, WCAG 2.1 AAA. It’s important to me that everyone can access and enjoy the content I create. And that should be top of mind for all Web designers, personal and professional.
It’s bad enough that the UK has good regulations but no regulators to enforce them; now we have the US delaying regulation for another year. My personal take is that the deadline for accessibility compliance is now. And in that spirit, I’ll close with a poster I absolutely adore. One of my colleagues at the University of California touched my British heart by making this and sharing it in our Accessibility channel on Slack.
