Cyberspace is Not a Place After All!
Judge: Disabilities Act doesn't cover Web. A federal judge says Southwest Airlines doesn't have to make its site more accessible to the blind. The Americans with Disabilities Act, she says, doesn't apply to virtual space. [CNET News.com]
I'm sure glad this well-educated and articulate judge is here to teach all of us ignoramuses what cyberspace is and isn't. As more and more people rely to a greater extent on the Internet for news, connections to other humans, interaction, data storage, and a host of other things, it's nice to know that the U.S. government, at least, won't worry its pretty little empty head about those who have any disability. Let 'em cheat fate! [Eclecticity: Dan Shafer's Web Log]
I expect that someone will try to appeal this. But absent that, some employers may be able to cite this legal ruling as justification for denying access to computers on the job. If the internet is exempt from the disabled, then it is not much of a stretch to say that intranets are also exempt. If you are disabled, and want a job that involves using a computer terminal, which is probably a very large percentage of the jobs that exist today, then tough luck, the law does not apply to computer access. Discuss
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