TIP 16

Can I be Prosecuted under UK Law?

Although very unlikely as it stands, the answer is yes, you can be prosecuted. A disabled person can make a claim against you if your website makes it impossible or unreasonably difficult to access information and services. If you have not made reasonable adjustments and cannot show that this failure is justified, then you may be liable under the Disability Discrimination Act, and may have to pay compensation and be ordered by a court to change your site!

A useful reference is the case brought against the Sydney Olympics Committee in Australia in 2000. This resulted in a landmark decision against the website owners, requiring them to pay $20,000 Australian dollars.

"This response, I am satisfied, was very hurtful for him; the suggestion that he enlist the aid of a sighted person to assist him was wholly inconsistent with his own expectations and what he himself, unaided, had been able to achieve, both at university level and in business, in spite of his disability. To dismiss him and to continue to be dismissive of him was not only hurtful, he was also made to feel, I am satisfied, various emotions including those of anger and rejection by a significant statutory agent within the community of which he himself was a part."

Judge Hon. William Carter QC 2

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