RE: ADA Compliance - Links to Third Party Websites

Here is what WCAG Understanding Conformance says: https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/conformance.html

Partial conformance claims due to third party content
When an author makes a decision to use a third party implementation, they should choose products that meet WCAG requirements. If all content on a page, including third party content, meets all WCAG success criteria then the page conforms to WCAG. However, if the page does not conform to WCAG only for reasons that are legitimately outside the author's control then the author can make a claim of partial conformance. It is important to recognize that this is a statement of non-conformance and there are users who may not be able to access some of the content this page.
One reason that content may be outside the author's control is because it is being provided by a third party (blogs, portals, news sites). Web pages may also include content via third party libraries, plugins, or widgets.
Be sure to monitor any content that can change without approval from the web page author, as a page which once conformed may suddenly fail to conform. If it is not possible to monitor and repair the third party content, it is necessary to identify the non-conforming parts of the page for users. If the rest of the web page conforms to WCAG, such a page qualifies for a statement of partial conformance, third party content.


Alan Smith

From: Brian David
Sent: Tuesday, July 17, 2018 2:02 PM
To: Dan Paguirigan, Jr
Cc: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: Re: ADA Compliance - Links to Third Party Websites

Hi Dan,

UC Berkeley was sued for video content that was not adequately captioned (as well as MOOCs that weren't accessible). They were sued by someone outside of the school, but still under Section 504. Presumably a student could have sued them as well or filed an Office of Civil Rights complaint. So if the content is educational in nature or relates to some sort of required action (like registering for classes), then I think it'd likely need to be accessible, regardless of where it is hosted or the platform used.

Note: I'm not a lawyer!

Best,
Brian

On Tue, Jul 17, 2018 at 7:52 AM Urban, Mark (CDC/OCOO/OCIO/ITSO) <fka2@cdc.gov> wrote:
Hi Dan,
 
Speaking for myself, I try to keep these things easy.  The legal minutia can get fuzzy, and frankly is not always clear from case to case.  So, in layman’s terms:  If you are covered by the ADA and/or Rehab Act (State Universities in the US are covered by both), then:
 
•         If you MADE the content or someone could reasonably assume it was made by you, then it must be fully accessible.  (we often put this at CDC in the terms,  “if it has our logo, it has our responsibility”)  
•         If you REQUIRE content’s use as part of your service, then it must be either accessible or an accommodation provided. (e.g. a course homework to watch a YouTube video not made by you)
•         If you NEITHER MADE NOR REQUIRE the content, then you do not generally need to ensure accessibility (again, weird and extraneous case law here, so check with a lawyer in your area), though of course I’d always recommend it or at least ask the platform/creator to make it accessible.  
 
Note that if you are using funds from HHS, we specifically state WCAG/508 conformance as our standard for meeting 504 responsibilities for grant-funded activities.  
 
 
Regards,
Mark D. Urban
CDC/ATSDR Section 508 Coordinator
Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO)
Office of the Chief Operating Officer (OCOO)
Murban@CDC.gov | 919-541-0562 office 

 
 
 
From: Dan Paguirigan, Jr <danp@hawaii.edu> 
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2018 8:14 PM

To: w3c-wai-ig@w3.org
Subject: ADA Compliance - Links to Third Party Websites
 
Aloha Everyone,
 
Regarding ADA / WCAG compliance, if an organization/institution website has a link to an external website like YouTube, Facebook, etc. with content that was created and used for by the organization (How to videos, documentation, etc.). Will that content have to be accessible?
 
If so, who would be responsible for the content in the case of legal issues?
 
Sincerely,
Dan
 
-- 
Brian David, MLIS, CPACC
925 878-5327
brianmdavid@gmail.com