From Sen. Brian Schatz: For Complete Post, Click Here…
U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) led a group of 12 senators in calling on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to support online protections for Americans with disabilities. The senators asked DOJ to restart a rulemaking process under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to establish new rules ensuring that the ADA applies to the Internet.
“The United States has invested billions of dollars to develop technology and provide connectivity to all parts of the country, but it is of little value to the Americans who are unable to access the online services that the rest of us so heavily rely on,” the senators wrote to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who leads DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. “When Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, the Internet and digital technologies were at a nascent stage. More than thirty years later, these technologies are now ubiquitous and we rely on them for daily activities—such as communicating with friends and family, conducting business, accessing government resources, and obtaining health care. New rules are necessary so that individuals with disabilities are provided equal access to the digital world.”
