Website Accessibility Regulations
An increasing number of lawsuits have recently been filed against a wide range of companies and industries, including LPL and several of our financial professionals’ “doing business as” (DBA) entities, asserting claims that their websites fail to meet accessibility requirements under applicable federal and state laws. Since a number of these lawsuits have resulted in settlements, we want to make you aware of this risk and how to mitigate it and protect your business.
Please also note that while LPL requires advisors to submit DBA websites for the limited purpose of reviewing content and disclosures for compliance with applicable securities regulations, advisors remain responsible for ensuring that their websites’ technical capabilities comply with accessibility and other non-securities regulations or requirements. As such, LPL’s standards for website review in accordance with applicable securities regulations are not changing, and do not address website accessibility issues advisors should independently consider.
If you maintain a website through which you offer your services to the public, it is advisable to ensure that your website is designed to accommodate people with disabilities who may attempt to access your website content. If you have questions about whether you need to make changes, please consult your practice’s legal counsel.
Examples of website accessibility barriers outlined by the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division include:
Poor color contrast or use of color alone to convey information. People with limited vision or color-blindness cannot read text if there is not enough contrast between the text and background (e.g., light gray text on a light-colored background).
Use of color alone to give information. People who are colorblind may not have access to information when that information is conveyed using only color cues, because they cannot distinguish certain colors from others. Also, screen readers do not tell the user the color of text on a screen, so a person who is blind would not be able to know that color is meant to convey certain information (for example, using red text alone to show which fields are required on a form).
Lack of text alternatives (“alt text”) on images. People who are blind will not be able to understand the content and purpose of images, such as pictures, illustrations, and charts, when no text alternative is provided. Text alternatives convey the purpose of an image, including pictures, illustrations, charts, etc.
No captions on videos. People with hearing disabilities may not be able to understand information communicated in a video if the video does not have captions.
Inaccessible online forms. People with disabilities may not be able to fill out, understand, and accurately submit forms without things like:
Labels that screen readers can convey to their users (such as text that reads “credit card number” where that number should be entered);
Clear instructions; and
Error indicators (such as alerts telling the user a form field is missing or incorrect).
Mouse-only navigation (lack of keyboard navigation). People with disabilities who cannot use a mouse or trackpad will not be able to access web content if they cannot navigate a website using a keyboard.
We encourage you to visit the Department of Justice’s website for additional details regarding website accessibility at https://beta.ada.gov/resources/web-guidance/, and to discuss with your website designer or consultant, and your own legal counsel as appropriate, if you are uncertain whether your website complies with these and/or any related state regulations.