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Advocates for WebAccess for Blind Pass Legal Hurdle
Suit Against Target Gets Class-Action Status,Already Spurs Change

By JAMES COVERT
Blind Internet users scored a victory in their battle to gain better access to what is on the Web.
A federal judge in California has granted class-action status to a lawsuit against Target Corp. charging that the discount retailer's site is inaccessible to blind shoppers. The lawsuit already appears to have prodded Target into making improvements to its site, and industry experts say legal challenges have proved to be an effective way for blind advocates to alert Web builders about problems with Internet access.

At issue is whether Target's site is compatible with special software that can vocalize invisible code embedded beneath computer graphics, describing aloud the content of a Web page. Plaintiffs, led by the National Federation for the Blind, are making their case under the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as two California state laws, claiming they "are being denied equal access to Target stores" because of poor access to Target.com.

Minneapolis-based Target says it believes its site is "fully accessible and complies with all applicable laws," and that it plans to appeal.

Some outsiders say continuing the fight isn't worth it. Settling the suit and upgrading its Web site would likely be a "win-win situation" for Target and its customers, says Greg Mersol, a partner at the law firm Baker Hostetler who specializes in class-action litigation.

Efforts to write accessibility requirements into federal Internet guidelines have hit roadblocks. The majority of corporate initiatives to improve Internet access to blind and other disabled Web users has been driven by fear of lawsuits, says David Grant, vice president of marketing for Watchfire, an Internet-access consultant owned by International Business Machines Corp.

A 1999 lawsuit against America Online over blind access was quickly settled, followed by enhancements at AOL and other Internet-service providers. A 2002 case against Southwest Airlines was thrown out, but the company moved to eliminate obstacles to ticket purchases by blind travelers on its site.

One common stumbling block for transactions is the use of "visual verification" tools for security purposes, which ask users to retype a password displayed in wavy distorted letters, to prove that a person and not another computer is seeking access. It can get in the way of more than just shopping, says Kevin Barry, a Long Island-based attorney who is blind. Visual verification on Yahoo Inc.'s site kept him from signing up for an email account, or joining any of Yahoo.com's chat rooms, Mr. Barry says.

A Yahoo spokeswoman responds that the company "is committed to making its site accessible to the broadest possible audience," and that it is testing audio-based verification tools.
But the most common problem is a lack of labeling for links and images, which in addition to pictures can function as charts, product descriptions and instructions, coupons and order forms.
Such labeling isn't costly -- a "very minor" part of an electronic-commerce budget for any major firm, Mr. Grant says. But he also concedes that it can take some time to perform the upgrades, especially as Web pages become increasingly complex. Some blind advocates and industry experts estimate that more than a third of the Internet remains inaccessible for blind users, partly for that reason.

"Nine times out of 10 it's because [Web designers] don't think of it," Mr. Grant says. "They're hired to do something as flashy, on-time and on-budget as possible."

Chris Danielsen, a spokesman for the National Federation for the Blind, says the group has a "cooperation agreement" with Amazon.com Inc. to improve the Internet retailer's blind accessibility, which he says is already superior. Grocers including Safeway Inc., whose Web sites are particularly handy for blind shoppers hoping to avoid the hassles of a trip to the supermarket also tend to do a good job, he says.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also operates