🚀 go-pugleaf

Subject: Olympic Web Site Discrimination Decision Monday
I wrote Sun, 27 Aug 2000 12:37:49 +1000:

>On Monday 28 August 2000 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
>("HREOC") will publicly release its decision about the website...
>
>As one of the expert witnesses who gave evidence about the usability of the
>SOCOG web site, I will be at the Press Conference...

"REASONS FOR DECISION of THE HON WILLIAM CARTER QC" is available at: 
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/disability_rights/Maguire_v_SOCOG2.htm

Below are some highlights from the decision, followed by my comments:

"1.	THE COMPLAINT
... On 7 June 1999 the complainant, who is blind, complained to the
Commission that he was unlawfully discriminated against by the
respondent in three respects: the failure to provide braille copies of
the information required to place orders for Olympic Games tickets; the
failure to provide braille copies of the Olympic Games souvenir
programme; and the failure to provide a web site which was accessible to
the complainant.

... In the Commission's view, the respondent has discriminated against
the complainant in breach of section 24 of the DDA in that the web site
does not include ALT text on all images and image maps links, the Index
to Sports cannot be accessed from the Schedule page and the Results
Tables provided during the Games on the web site will remain
inaccessible.

3.2	Unjustifiable hardship
... It is necessary to consider first the evidence of Mr Worthington and
Ms Treviranus. Mr Worthington's qualifications are extensive. He was the
first Web Master for the Australian Department of Defence. He was one of
the architects of the Commonwealth Government's internet and web
strategy and is a recognised author and contributor to the literature."

** Blush **   ;-)

"...The provision of an accessible web site for the complainant and
other vision impaired persons constitutes a very considerable benefit.
He and they could access precisely the same body of information which is
available to sighted persons in relation to this event which during its
currency will engage the attention of the whole nation. This
considerable benefit will be available and the consequential detriment
for the respondent will be modest. Indeed, had it sought to address the
issue earlier it would have been easily consumed in the course of the
development of the site - in Ms Treviranus' view, the additional effort
would have less than 1 percent. Even now it will take only 4 weeks to
have the site at Level A standard.

4.	DETERMINATION
Accordingly, the complaint is substantiated and it is proper for the
Commission to make the following determination pursuant to s.103(1) of
the DDA:

1. A declaration that the respondent has engaged in conduct that is
unlawful under section 24 of the DDA in that it has provided for the use
of the complainant a web site which because of his blindness is to a
significant extent inaccessible.

2. A declaration that the respondent do all that is necessary to render
its web site accessible to the complainant by 15 September 2000 by:
(i) including ALT text on all images and image map links on its web
site;
(ii) providing access to the Index of Sports from the Schedule page; and
(iii) providing access to the Results Tables to be used on the web site
during the Sydney Olympic Games.

If the respondent does not comply with the above declaration either by
the commencement of the Games or in the course thereof it is apparent
that the complainant will suffer loss and damage for which compensation
might be assessed and awarded. Accordingly, in the event of non
compliance or only partial compliance by the respondent, the complainant
should have the opportunity of reopening the question of the appropriate
relief which the Commission should order. Therefore, having made the
above determination, I adjourn this matter in case it is necessary for
the complainant to consider whether compensation should be ordered and I
grant the complainant leave to approach the Commission to have the
matter relisted to consider this issue were that necessary..."

MY COMMENTS ON THE OUTCOME:

For an analysis of accessibility issues with the web site, see my expert
witness statement for the complainant:
http://www.tomw.net.au/2000/mvs.html

It is to be hoped that all CEOs of organizations with a public web
presence will now look to the accessibility of their sites. Also IT
professionals who design such sites need to realize that they are
subject to a code of ethics, which discrimination against the disabled
is a clear breech of. The cost of making web sites accessible is minimal
and has benefits which extend beyond the disabled, to those on low
bandwidth links such as in rural areas and even to new technologies such
as wireless Internet. Decision makers should fix their web sites because
it makes good business sense, but now have the added incentive that it
is clearly unlawful not to.

Decisions of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission are not
directly enforcible. If SOCOG decided not to comply, orders would have
to be sought in the Federal Court. This would allow SOCOG to effectively
delay compliance until after the games, but possibly at a considerable
cost in legal fees and costs.

Fixing the web site would be a relatively straightforward process, as I
explained in the hearing (and as was accepted by the commissioner). To
test my claim it would take less time to fix one of the problems (the
menu of sports image map) than it took to discuss at the hearing, I
prepared a web page showing options to fix it. This took about ten
minutes to devise and half an hour to implement:
http://www.tomw.net.au/2000/sports.html

As detailed at the hearing, my view is only one expert would be needed
to devise the fixes for the flaws in the web site and a small team of
people to carry them out. If additional personnel are needed, these
could be made up of university IT students and other volunteers. These
people need not be Java experts, as claimed by SOCOG, but just require
enough skills to implement and check the web changes the expert devises.

Hopefully SOCOG will follow the precedent of a previous case of
discrimination against the disabled involving an IT system, which had a
positive outcome. In June 1995 unlawful indirect discrimination was
found against Telecom for refusing to supply a Teletypewriter to a deaf
person on the same basis that it provided a standard telephone to
hearing subscribers. Telecom accepted the findings and launched a
national campaign to earn the respect of people with a disability.
Details are in Michael Bourk's book "Universal Service?
Telecommunications Policy In Australia and People with Disabilities"
(including an appendix on web discrimination):
http://www.tomw.net.au/uso

Making the SOCOG website accessible would provide benefits to those on
slow Internet connections and to non-english readers, as well as to the
blind. An accessible version of the web site would load quicker on older
computer equipment and slow dial-up Internet connections (particularly
in regional areas). Non-english readers would be able to use web
translation services to read the pages in their own language. There may
also be savings in the cost of the equipment and communications links
needed, as less data needs to be transmitted to non-graphics users. Also
this work would enhance Australia's international reputation as a
country competent in IT and with a respect for the disabled.

About a year ago I offered my services to SOCOG for free, to provide
advice with the online presence and last week I renewed that offer. It
may be too big a claim to have brought about the Olympic web site, but I
feel some ownership of the task, having proposed an Australian online
presence for the Olympic Games in a submission to Parliament seven years
ago*.

* "ACS Submission on the Olympic Games", to the House of Representatives
Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, 28 November
1993.


Tom Worthington FACS     tom.worthington@tomw.net.au
Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd             ABN: 17 088 714 309
http://www.tomw.net.au                  PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617
Visiting Fellow, Computer Science,  Australian National University
Publications Director & Past President,  Australian Computer Society
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Net Disabilities Policy Book Online: http://www.tomw.net.au/uso