AudioEye Provides Industry-leading Legal Protection for Customers

Tucson, Ariz. — August 15, 2023 / PRNewswire / —  AudioEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: AEYE), the industry-leading enterprise SaaS accessibility company, shares findings from an analysis of over 900 known legal claims in the accessibility industry, revealing that customers leveraging AudioEye’s complete digital accessibility solution are 67% less likely to receive a valid lawsuit claim compared to other industry solutions. 

Lawsuits continue to run rampant in the accessibility space, with over 1,950 in the first half of 2023 alone. Each lawsuit contains a number of specific claims made against the company being sued. Valid claims are claims that can be reproduced and are found to violate web accessibility guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Version 2.1, Level AA). Invalid claims, however, cannot be replicated and typically fail in court.

“As we seek to build an accessible digital world, AudioEye consistently reviews legal claims brought against companies to identify common trends so we can improve our testing workflows, remediation best practices, and technology,” said Dominic Varacalli, Chief Operating Officer, AudioEye. “We’re proud to help our customers provide users with disabilities accessible digital experiences, which is reflected by having the lowest rate of valid claims in the industry.”

Over the last four years, the number of web accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court(opens in a new tab) has increased between 12 and 14% annually. Lawsuits act as a key indicator on how well companies are implementing digital accessibility programs that actually work for disabled users. In analyzing publicly available lawsuit and claim data in H1 2023, AudioEye found that:

• Companies with no solution in place are most susceptible to accessibility claims: AudioEye found that 68% of claims were found to be valid when a company had no solution in place while 56% of claims against companies were valid with a solution in place, including those that push for an at-source only approach.

• AudioEye has the lowest rate of valid claims in the industry: In H1 2023, only 19% of claims brought against AudioEye customers leveraging both automation and expert testing were found to be valid. This represents the lowest valid claim rate in the accessibility industry and is 67% lower than the industry average. 

• Lawsuits against AudioEye customers are decreasing: In H1 2022 lawsuits against AudioEye customers accounted for 3% of total lawsuits. In H1 2023, this number was down to 1.9% of total lawsuits – representing a 37% reduction year over year despite an increase in the total number of industry-wide lawsuits. 

Early this year in a precedent setting case, AudioEye successfully defended its customer,(opens in a new tab) Babylon Marine, in a website accessibility case filed in New York federal court, through legal support and the use of cutting-edge technology, resulting in case dismissal for no monetary settlement or other relief.

Methodology:

This study was conducted with a multi-sourced approach. The AudioEye team accessed litigation data from reputable sources including CourtHouse News Service and Docket Alarm. These platforms provide valuable insights into legal cases and lawsuits, enabling AudioEye to identify key industry trends and patterns. In addition to available industry data, AudioEye reviewed lawsuit claims against customers to determine the total number of valid and invalid claims.