Online Accessibility Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1100 To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to include consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity, to establish web accessibility compliance standards for such websites and mobile applications, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 18, 2021 Mr. BUDD (for himself, Mr. HUDSON, and Mr. CORREA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to include consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity, to establish web accessibility compliance standards for such websites and mobile applications, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Online Accessibility 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1100 IH SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABIL- 1 ITIES ACT OF 1990 RELATING TO CONSUMER 2 FACING WEBSITES AND MOBILE APPLICA- 3 TIONS OWNED OR OPERATED BY A PRIVATE 4 ENTITY. 5 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 6 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 7 the following new title: 8 ‘‘TITLE VI—CONSUMER FACING 9 WEBSITES AND MOBILE AP- 10 PLICATIONS OWNED OR OP- 11 ERATED BY A PRIVATE ENTI- 12 TY 13 ‘‘SEC. 601. REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSUMER FACING 14 WEBSITES AND MOBILE APPLICATIONS 15 OWNED OR OPERATED BY A PRIVATE ENTITY. 16 ‘‘(a) GENERAL RULE.—No individual, by reason of 17 a disability, shall be excluded from participation in or be 18 denied the full and equal benefits of the services of a con- 19 sumer facing website or mobile application, or be subjected 20 to discrimination by any private owner or operator of a 21 consumer facing website or mobile application. 22 ‘‘(b) STANDARD FOR COMPLIANCE.— 23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A consumer facing website 24 or mobile application shall be considered compliant 25 under the requirements of this section if such 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1100 IH website or mobile application is in substantial com- 1 pliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guide- 2 lines (referred to in this title as WCAG) 2.0 Level 3 A and Level AA standard established by the Accessi- 4 bility Guidelines Working Group, or any subsequent 5 update, revision, or replacement to the WCAG 2.0 6 Level A and Level AA standard published by the 7 World Wide Web Consortium or successor organiza- 8 tion. 9 ‘‘(2) ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF ACCESS.—A pri- 10 vate entity that owns or operates a consumer facing 11 website or mobile application that is not in substan- 12 tial compliance with the standard set forth under 13 paragraph (1) shall provide an alternative means of 14 access for individuals with disabilities that is equiva- 15 lent to access the content available on such website 16 or mobile application. 17 ‘‘(c) REGULATION.— 18 ‘‘(1) ACCESS BOARD.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Architectural and 20 Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (re- 21 ferred to in this title as the ‘Access Board’), 22 shall issue and publish standards setting 23 forth— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1100 IH ‘‘(i) for purposes of this title, a defini- 1 tion of ‘substantial compliance’, ‘alter- 2 native means of access’, and ‘consumer 3 facing website or mobile application’; and 4 ‘‘(ii) regulations necessary to imple- 5 ment the standard set forth in subsection 6 (b). 7 ‘‘(B) TIMING OF REGULATIONS.—For pur- 8 poses of this title: 9 ‘‘(i) Not later than 180 days after the 10 date of the enactment of this Act, the Ac- 11 cess Board shall promulgate a notice of 12 proposed rulemaking. 13 ‘‘(ii) Upon issuance of the notice 14 under clause (i), the Access Board shall so- 15 licit comments from the public on such 16 proposed rule for a period of 90 days. 17 ‘‘(iii) After the Access Board has re- 18 viewed the comments solicited under clause 19 (ii) and revised such proposed rule, the Of- 20 fice of Management and Budget shall con- 21 duct a regulatory assessment of the rule 22 for a period not to exceed 90 days. 23 ‘‘(iv) Not later than 365 days after 24 the Office of Management and Budget has 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1100 IH completed the regulatory assessment under 1 clause (iii), the Access Board shall issue 2 final regulations. 3 ‘‘(C) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—The Ac- 4 cess Board shall periodically review and, as ap- 5 propriate, amend the standard required under 6 subsection (b) to reflect technological advances 7 or changes in electronic and information tech- 8 nology. 9 ‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.—No later than 10 365 days after the end of the comment period under 11 subparagraph (B)(ii), the Attorney General shall es- 12 tablish a procedure for receiving and investigating 13 complaints filed under this title. 14 ‘‘(3) FLEXIBILITY FOR SMALL BUSINESS CON- 15 CERNS.—Regulations established under this section 16 shall include flexibility for small business concerns to 17 comply with the standard under subsection (b). 18 ‘‘SEC. 602. ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES. 19 ‘‘(a) EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE REM- 20 EDIES.—No individual may bring an action before a civil 21 court to enforce the provisions of this title until all admin- 22 istrative remedies under this section have been exhausted. 23 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO OWNER OR OPERATOR.—Prior to fil- 24 ing a complaint with the Attorney General under sub- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1100 IH section (c), an individual must first notify the private 1 owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile 2 application that such website or mobile application is not 3 in compliance with the standard for compliance under sec- 4 tion 601 of this title. 5 ‘‘(1) If within 90 days of receiving notice under 6 subsection (b) the owner or operator of a consumer 7 facing website or mobile application fails to bring 8 such website or such application into compliance 9 with the requirement under section 601 of this title, 10 an individual may file a complaint with the Depart- 11 ment. 12 ‘‘(2) If an individual files a complaint with the 13 Department of Justice (referred to in this title as 14 the ‘Department’) under paragraph (1), a copy of 15 such complaint shall be provided to the owner or op- 16 erator of a consumer facing website or mobile appli- 17 cation. 18 ‘‘(c) REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS TO ATTORNEY 19 GENERAL.— 20 ‘‘(1) DEADLINE TO FILE COMPLAINT.—If an in- 21 dividual files a complaint with the Department, such 22 complaint shall be filed within the 90-day period be- 23 ginning on the date after the 90-day period under 24 subsection (b)(1) has terminated. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1100 IH ‘‘(2) INVESTIGATION BY ATTORNEY GEN- 1 ERAL.—Upon receiving a complaint of an alleged 2 violation, the Attorney General shall complete an in- 3 vestigation within 180 days to determine whether a 4 violation exists. 5 ‘‘(3) FINAL AGENCY DETERMINATION.—The 6 Attorney General shall be considered to have made 7 a final determination on a complaint if— 8 ‘‘(A) during the 180-day period after a 9 complaint has been filed with the Department, 10 the Attorney General determines the owner or 11 operator of a consumer facing website or mobile 12 application is not in compliance with the stand- 13 ard set forth under section 601; or 14 ‘‘(B) the 180-day period expires without 15 the Attorney General having made such a final 16 determination. 17 ‘‘(d) ENFORCEMENT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 18 ‘‘(1) DENIAL OF RIGHTS.— 19 ‘‘(A) DUTY TO INVESTIGATE.— 20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney 21 General shall investigate alleged violations 22 of this title, and shall undertake periodic 23 reviews of compliance of consumer facing 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1100 IH websites and mobile applications under this 1 title. 2 ‘‘(ii) ATTORNEY GENERAL CERTIFI- 3 CATION.—On the application of a State or 4 local government, the Attorney General 5 may, in consultation with the Access 6 Board, and after prior notice and a public 7 hearing at which persons, including indi- 8 viduals with disabilities, are provided an 9 opportunity to testify against such certifi- 10 cation, certify that a State law or local or- 11 dinance that establishes accessibility re- 12 quirements that meets or exceeds the min- 13 imum requirements of this Act for the ac- 14 cessibility and usability of consumer facing 15 websites and mobile applications under this 16 title. At any enforcement proceeding under 17 this section, such certification by the At- 18 torney General shall be rebuttable evidence 19 that such State law or local ordinance does 20 meet or exceed the minimum requirements 21 of this Act. 22 ‘‘(B) POTENTIAL VIOLATION.—If the At- 23 torney General has reasonable cause to believe 24 that— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1100 IH ‘‘(i) any person or group of persons is 1 engaged in a pattern or practice of dis- 2 crimination under this title; or 3 ‘‘(ii) any person or group of persons 4 has been discriminated against under this 5 title and such discrimination raises an 6 issue of general public importance, 7 the Attorney General may commence a civil ac- 8 tion in any appropriate United States district 9 court. 10 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF COURT.—In a civil action 11 under paragraph (1)(B), the court may— 12 ‘‘(A) grant any equitable relief that such 13 court considers to be appropriate; 14 ‘‘(B) order monetary damages to persons 15 aggrieved when requested by the Attorney Gen- 16 eral; and 17 ‘‘(C) assess a civil penalty against the enti- 18 ty in an amount— 19 ‘‘(i) not to exceed $20,000 for a first 20 violation; and 21 ‘‘(ii) not to exceed $50,000 for any 22 subsequent violation. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1100 IH ‘‘(3) PUNITIVE DAMAGES.—For purposes of 1 paragraph (2)(B), the term ‘monetary damages’ and 2 ‘such other relief’ does not include punitive damages. 3 ‘‘(4) SINGLE VIOLATION.—For purposes of 4 paragraph (2)(C), in determining whether a first or 5 subsequent violation has occurred, a determination 6 in a single action, by judgment or settlement, that 7 the consumer facing website or mobile application 8 has engaged in more than one discriminatory act 9 shall be counted as a single violation. 10 ‘‘(5) JUDICIAL CONSIDERATION.—In a civil ac- 11 tion under paragraph (1)(B), the court, when con- 12 sidering what amount of civil penalty, if any, is ap- 13 propriate, shall give consideration to any good faith 14 effort or attempt to comply with this Act by the en- 15 tity. 16 ‘‘SEC. 603. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION. 17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Upon exhausting all administra- 18 tive remedies under section 602, any individual aggrieved 19 by a violation of this title may commence a civil action 20 in any appropriate court of the United States against the 21 owner or operator of a consumer facing website or mobile 22 application that engages in such a violation, unless the At- 23 torney General has instituted an enforcement action under 24 this title. A civil action under this title is the sole and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1100 IH exclusive remedy for any person aggrieved by the failure 1 of any consumer facing website or mobile application to 2 meet the requirements of section 601. In any action filed 3 under this title, the complaint shall plead with particu- 4 larity each element of the plaintiff’s claim, including the 5 specific barriers to access a consumer facing website or 6 mobile application. 7 ‘‘(b) TOLLING.—With respect to the running of the 8 statutory periods of limitation for such action, the running 9 of such statutory periods shall be deemed suspended dur- 10 ing the period beginning on the date of the enactment of 11 this Act and ending 180 days after the date the Access 12 Board has issued final regulations under section 601. 13 ‘‘SEC. 604. DEFINITIONS. 14 ‘‘In this Act: 15 ‘‘(1) CONSUMER FACING WEBSITE.—The term 16 ‘consumer facing website’ means any website that is 17 purposefully made accessible to the public for com- 18 mercial purposes. 19 ‘‘(2) MOBILE APPLICATIONS.—The term ‘mobile 20 application’ means a consumer facing software appli- 21 cation that can be executed on a mobile platform, or 22 a web-based software application that is tailored to 23 a mobile platform but is executed on a server. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1100 IH ‘‘(3) SMALL BUSINESS.—The term ‘small busi- 1 ness concern’ has the meaning given such term in 2 section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 3 632(a)).’’. 4 SEC. 3. CLERICAL AMENDMENT. 5 The table of contents of the Americans with Disabil- 6 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.) is amended 7 by inserting after the item relating to section 515 the fol- 8 lowing new item: 9 ‘‘TITLE VI—CONSUMER FACING WEBSITES AND MOBILE APPLICATIONS OWNED OR OPERATED BY A PRIVATE ENTITY ‘‘Sec. 601. Requirements for consumer facing websites and mobile applications owned or operated by a private entity. ‘‘Sec. 602. Administrative remedies. ‘‘Sec. 603. Private right of action. ‘‘Sec. 604. Definitions.’’. Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1100.IH H1100 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS