DOJ Crackdown on Web Accessibility: What Businesses Should Do Now

Over the last several years, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made one thing clear: online experiences must be accessible to people with disabilities. Despite changes in the administration, the underlying momentum around web and mobile accessibility hasn’t slowed down — in fact, it’s gaining traction. In 2024, 8,800 complaints were filed in federal district courts for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III, a 7% increase from 2023 and triple the number filed in 2013 at 2,722.

Alongside enforcement, the DOJ has released numerous public statements highlighting the importance of proactive inclusion. This increased recognition signals that digital accessibility isn’t just a legal requirement — it’s a civil rights issue. From proposed regulations clarifying accessibility standards for state and local government entities to increased guidance for businesses, the DOJ’s activity reflects a broader shift towards accountability, clarity, and progress.

Below, we’ll explain why the DOJ still prioritizes accessibility, what that means for organizations, and how public entities can meet accessibility requirements and minimize risk.

The DOJ is Still Prioritizing Digital Accessibility

The DOJ continues to treat digital accessibility as a civil rights issue — a position heavily supported by action.

For example, in April 2024, the DOJ finalized a final rule under Title II of the ADA, requiring state and local governments to ensure their digital content is accessible to people with disabilities. Under the DOJ’s final rule, organizations have until the 2026 compliance deadline to meet accessibility standards. The compliance date and clear technical standards reinforce a long-standing message: digital spaces — just like physical ones — must be accessible.

But the government’s focus isn’t stopping with public accommodations. The DOJ has also stepped up enforcement across digital spaces, signaling a continued commitment to hold organizations accountable when digital content falls short of accessibility standards or fails to provide equal access for all users.

That commitment is seen in the increased number of ADA lawsuits over the last several years, with the DOJ ensuring accessibility in:

• Voting systems: The DOJ has reached settlements with numerous state election offices across the country to ensure blind and low-vision voters can access absentee ballots on government websites.

• Education platforms: To ensure online learning platforms, course materials, and digital resources are accessible to students with disabilities, the DOJ has reached settlements and agreements mandating educational institutions adhere to website accessibility standards in the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.

• eCommerce websites: Large and small retailers are being investigated or sued over accessibility issues that prevent users with disabilities from shopping online.

With well over 8,000 accessibility lawsuits filed in the last year, it’s clear that digital accessibility isn’t optional — it’s a right the federal government is actively enforcing with limited exceptions.

Put simply, digital accessibility remains essential and is baked into efforts to upgrade and modernize government services, close gaps in digital access, and ensure everyone can fully participate in civic and economic life.

A series of icons representing things like web cursors and Braille keyboards, next to an accessibility symbol.

What the Continued Focus Means for Business

The DOJ’s ongoing focus on digital accessibility indicates increased legal risk and a clear shift in what’s expected across web and mobile platforms. With digital accessibility now treated as a core civil rights issue, companies that fail to meet evolving standards face greater scrutiny from regulators, advocacy groups, and plaintiffs’ attorneys. 

As mentioned above, the number of ADA lawsuits increased 7% between 2023 and 2024. That increase does not include the number of demand letters or settlements sent quietly behind the scenes. These actions are often fast-moving and costly, especially for businesses caught unprepared. The legal risk doesn’t just come from federal enforcement — many states, such as California, have their own laws (like the Unruh Civil Rights Act) that add additional liability on top of ADA compliance requirements.

It’s not just websites drawing attention. Mobile apps — especially those used for shopping, banking, booking services, or accessing healthcare — are increasingly cited in lawsuits. If an app doesn’t support assistive technologies like screen readers, lacks descriptive labels, or is difficult to navigate with touch gestures, it’s likely to create accessibility issues that increase your legal risk. Some additional accessibility issues that trigger complaints and legal action include:

• Missing or incorrect alt text: Without alt text, users who rely on screen readers can’t access key visual content. 

• Poor screen reader compatibility: Forms, navigation menus, and pop-ups not coded for assistive tech create significant barriers. 

• Inaccessible PDFs or documents: Static or untagged online documents remain a common target of lawsuits, as many conventional electronic documents are inaccessible to individuals with disabilities.

• Lack of keyboard navigation: If users can’t tab through a site or app, it may be inaccessible for many individuals with motor impairments or other physical disabilities.

• Missing focus indicators: Similar to poor keyboard navigation, keyboard navigation that does not have a visible outline or highlight can make it difficult for keyboard users to know where they are on the screen.

• Low color contrast: Text with insufficient color contrast blends into the background, making content unreadable for users with low vision or color blindness. 

• Lack of mobile app accessibility: Accessibility requirements also extend to mobile apps and platforms, meaning they must include the same accessibility features as online platforms.

These accessibility issues are not uncommon — most exist on the majority of webpages (as supported by WebAIM’s accessibility survey), impact millions of users, and are regularly cited in litigation.

Ultimately, the DOJ’s continued enforcement sends a clear message: digital accessibility is a legal requirement, not a suggestion. Businesses that take a wait-and-see approach risk falling behind — and facing ADA lawsuits that could have been avoided with proactive compliance.

The Business Case for Accessibility Remains High

Even with enforcement around ADA requirements increasing, accessibility isn’t just about staying out of court. It’s also a smart business move. Creating an accessible, ADA-compliant website or mobile app helps reduce your legal risk while unlocking additional benefits for your business, including:

• Reduce legal exposure: Fixing common accessibility issues before they become legal liabilities minimizes your risk of lawsuits, ADA demand letters, fines and fees, and other legal repercussions.

• Reach more customers: Millions of people in the U.S. live with a disability. Making your digital content more accessible extends the reach of your potential market.

• Improve SEO: Following accessibility best practices — like using clean, semantic code, alt text, proper heading structures, and fast load times — can boost your site’s SEO rankings.

• Drive new revenue: The easier it is for users to browse, look, buy, or apply without accessibility barriers, the more likely they are to convert. This is especially true of the disability community, which is highly loyal and has trillions in spending power.

A checklist with an accessibility icon.

How to Become (and Stay) ADA Compliant

As the DOJ continues to focus on digital accessibility, ensuring your online content is ADA compliant is more important than ever. To do so, you should align your website and mobile app with the accessibility standards included in WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The success criteria included in WCAG are widely accepted as the technical benchmark for accessibility, covering everything from keyboard navigation to color contrast and screen reader compatibility.

The same standards apply whether you’re working on a public-facing website, an internal employee portal, or a mobile application. To help you work toward and maintain compliance with accessibility standards, follow these steps:

Conduct an Accessibility Audit Using Accessibility Tools

You can’t enhance your content’s accessibility without knowing where existing issues lie. Using accessibility tools like AudioEye’s Web Accessibility Checker can help you find common accessibility issues and give you a clear starting point. Supplement automated testing with audits from accessibility experts and individuals from the disability community to catch more complex issues — especially those involving screen reader compatibility or keyboard navigation.

Fix High-Risk Content

Once you’ve identified accessibility issues, focus first on the ones that impact the usability of your key pages and interactive elements. This includes:

• Missing or incorrect alt text

• Inaccessible PDFs, spreadsheets, or forms

• Poor color contrast

• Unlabeled buttons or links

• Navigation issues that block screen readers or keyboard users

Prioritize the pages users visit most often — like homepages, product pages, checkout flows, and login portals.

Monitor and Test Regularly

Accessibility isn’t a one-and-done project. As your site or app evolves, test updates regularly to catch new accessibility issues. Consider implementing accessibility audits in your QA or development workflow to stay ahead of issues. 

Provide Accessibility Training

Equip your developers, designers, and content creators with basic accessibility knowledge via accessibility training. Even short training sessions can prevent common mistakes — like using images of text, embedding inaccessible PDFs, or ignoring heading structures.

Implement Accessibility Best Practices Early

Building accessibility into your workflows from the beginning saves time and reduces legal risk. Make it part of your design systems, CMS templates, content checklists — any and all content creation processes. This includes:

• Writing descriptive link and button text (e.g., ‘Download the Accessibility Report’ vs. ‘Click Here’)

• Using proper heading hierarchy

• Captioning videos

• Including text transcripts for audio content

• Adding alt text to images

• Checking color contrast ratios

Even small adjustments go a long way in reducing friction for users and legal exposure for your business.

AudioEye: Helping You Stay Compliant as DOJ Scrutiny of Digital Accessibility Continues

Despite governmental shifts and changing policy priorities, one thing remains clear: digital accessibility is not going away. The DOJ’s renewed enforcement activity clearly signals that businesses are still expected to meet ADA requirements — across both websites and mobile apps. 

Delaying compliance not only increases your legal risk but also makes it harder to keep up as expectations evolve. The best time to prioritize accessibility? Now — before issues turn into lawsuits, demand letters, or lost customer trust. 

With AudioEye, meeting and maintaining ADA compliance is fast, easy, and cost-effective via our three-pronged approach. From our AI-driven automation technology that detects and fixes issues in real-time to our audits with experts from the disability community that offer the highest levels of protection in the industry, AudioEye helps you meet ADA compliance requirements and stay compliant at scale.

Start your path to accessibility with a free accessibility scan. Or schedule a demo to see how AudioEye offers 400% more protection than consulting or automation-only approaches.