What does the Disability Act say?
It is important to appreciate that the Disability Discrimination Act has been in existence for over 10 years. When it was introduced it did not contemplate the internet (and specifically websites) as within its ambit. At that time whilst those in the new media sector were well aware of the internet and its commercial potential, legislators were not.
In essence the Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to other members of the public.
Is a web designer a service provider?
Yes.
What is the real legal risk for websites which are not accessible?
The problem needs to be put in context. Web accessibility is currently an issue receiving a lot of press attention. However, adequate resources in terms of points of information are not easy to identify on the part of the web design industry. In fact websites have fallen within the ambit of the Act certainly since 1999 but it is only now that the issue is on the agenda of mainly public sector and large companies.
The main change is one of awareness in that two years ago a web designer would not be expected to know much about accessibility and therefore it would be very unlikely they could have been sued successfully. Now however the issue is in the public domain and web designers are expected to be aware of the issue.