The Single Line of Code That Spells Legal Trouble in Web3 & Beyond
The Single Line of Code That Spells Legal Trouble in Web3 & Beyond
Overlays cannot replace accessibility development efforts
“Fix your accessibility compliance with one line of code!”
~ < Insert Marketing Team of a Dysfunctional Product>
The blockchain ecosystem has the tendency to learn and work together with respect to teams, protocols, projects, and code. We often share coding insights and the open-source, transparent nature of the space contributes to true collaboration and fast-paced innovation. There is a tendency to follow examples set by larger players and to more closely learn from each other’s successes and failures.
This being said, it has come to our attention that one of the major Web3 and blockchain related organizations in the space has updated their website to leverage an overlay. This piece is dedicated to the discussion of these types of solutions and how there is no replacement to developing with accessibility in mind.
It is our view at Haptics DAO that these solutions not only do not succeed in their intended aims, but instead even increase accessibility issues for websites and decentralized applications.
What is an Overlay?
Simply put, there is a button (typically displaying an accessibility-related icon) that opens a widget. To a novice, this widget appears to provide a magical accessibility solution for their website. These widgets tend to vary with menu options, however some examples are highlighting text, reading mode, stopping animations, color contrast and color palette related options, font alignment and sizing options, etc
The figure above showcases some example icons of what the buttons look like, while the figure below depicts some example options. Please note these are mockups to represent the real widgets.
Success is Marketing
To a novice in accessibility, these solutions seem to address all potential issues. The websites of these solutions tend to tout claims such as “full ADA compliance” and display images and videos of individuals with apparent disabilities. The assertions are prominently featured on landing pages, but the truth is discreetly concealed in the terms and conditions.
In media and marketing communications, the framing effect embellishes content to appear as a one-stop solution. This portrayal can be especially enticing for businesses eager to ensure compliance and evade legal action, yet lacking a thorough understanding of accessibility requirements.
Many of these solutions also tend to list prominent organizations to catch one’s attention, which amplifies the notion of social proof, creating a false sense of trust and comfort towards their product. Major retail brands don’t always do their due diligence properly, and the ones that fall prey to these tactics may not have dedicated accessibility teams.
Principle of Least Effort
It is very tempting to pursue a solution that seems to address all of your problems with minimal effort. This circles back to having a lack of accessibility knowledge among teams and developers. When met with uncertainty, tight deadlines, and possible funding challenges, overlays appear to be a golden panacea.
This is particularly worrisome in the blockchain space, where our decentralized applications and developer stacks tend to be more modular. Projects are more inclined to adopt an SDK or widget for areas outside their expertise to free up bandwidth for their core solution. The pace of innovation in Web3 and blockchain is rapid, and engineering teams already struggle to keep up with evolving specifications and standards.
As engineers ourselves we understand the frustration and pain points of working with cutting-edge technology.
However, the bottom line is that there is no replacement for proper accessibility in any application or technology. Furthermore, there are actually some advantages that contribute to greater accessibility when properly enacted in decentralized applications.
Accessibility Edge in Blockchain Applications
1. Modularity
Modularity in blockchain applications allows for the creation of separate, interchangeable components that can be customized for specific accessibility needs. This flexible structure enables developers to incorporate accessibility features more easily and allows users to tailor applications to their unique requirements, enhancing the overall user experience.
One of the pillars of our research study at Haptics DAO, expands on the fact that decentralized applications can be categorized into broader types. For each category WCAG-informed best practices can be recommended to make the design more accessible.
For instance, NFT marketplaces should consider “load more’ buttons or pagination (separating content into different pages) by default and incorporate infinite scrolling as a toggle option for collections. Infinite scrolling can block keyboard users from reaching the footers at the bottom of the page.
2. Open Source
Open-source nature of many blockchain applications invites developers worldwide, including those with expertise in accessibility, to contribute and refine the application. This collaborative approach fosters the development of more accessible features, quicker identification, and resolution of accessibility issues, ultimately leading to more inclusive applications.
3. Interoperability
Interoperability in blockchain facilitates seamless integration and communication between different systems and organizations. This not only promotes the sharing of best practices for accessibility across applications and platforms but also leads to the creation of standardized, accessible interfaces, making the digital world more inclusive.
4. User-Controlled Data
Blockchain applications typically provide users with greater control over their data, a feature especially beneficial for people with disabilities. This empowers them to have better control over their personal information and how it is used, thereby enhancing their autonomy and privacy. We will explore decentralized identity and its benefits in a later piece.
5. Community
The decentralized nature of blockchain applications often comes with incentives for developers to actively contribute to the development and improvement of the application. This active developer community, motivated by rewards and a shared goal, can be instrumental in addressing accessibility issues and improving the application for all users.
Guidance From Leading Authority
European Union
An official European Commission page was released recently, highlighting the inefficacies of overlay technologies. In essence, the European Commission rebukes the marketing claims made by many overlay solutions. This is sensible, considering automated detection tools cannot even fully detect all possible issues.
Claims that a website can be made fully compliant without manual intervention are not realistic, since no automated tool can cover all the WCAG 2.1 level A and AA criteria.
Furthermore, they state that in fact many even worsen the problem.
In other words, overlay tools may make a website less accessible for some users.
Overlay Fact Sheet
The overlay fact sheet, contains a large list of resources, talks, articles, etc from accessibility experts in the industry. It lists all the currently known overlay solutions by name followed by a petition signed by over 800 experts from prominent technology companies, accessibility organizations, and high profile institutions.
Represented organizations include: Google, Microsoft, Apple, NBC, Squarespace, BBC, VMWare, Shopify, ServiceNow, Dell, Lyft, HCL, Costco, Expedia, eBay, Cigna, Target, CVS Health, Kijiji, Orange, Pearson, Mitre, Sapient, and Pearson Assessments
There is an additional section dedicated to user testimonials, comprised of social media posts by individuals who leverage assistive technologies. We highly encourage others to view this resource to draw their own inferences and conclusions.
Forbes & Wired Magazine Articles
Highlighted in this section are articles from Forbes and Wired, which discuss the shortcomings of overlay solutions for web accessibility. These publications provide expert analysis and insights into the inefficiencies of these technologies.
A11y Project
The A11Y Project is a community-driven initiative that aims to simplify web accessibility by providing reliable resources, best practices, and tools. They have a large body of work covering various areas of accessibility.
Their post on overlays covers their timeline and expands on how they are not an effective solution from their findings and view. This piece may be found on their blog.
Nielsan Norman Group
This firm offers extensive user experience consulting to various organizations. Their website is a valuable resource for researchers, frontend designers, developers, and engineers.
In their overlay video, they briefly present a few findings from a study on the inefficacies of overlay solutions. The research question explored was: How discoverable and useful are accessibility widgets for screen reader users?
Their findings?
"None of the study participants showed interest in the accessibility widgets. Nobody opened them even once of their own accord."
They further expand on this work in their post highlighting screen reader challenges. See point 4: Accessibility Menus: Not Considered Helpful
Their content succinctly summarizes some of the key points that our team has researched and discussed in this article as well.
Closing Notes
This piece is our organization’s opinion on the subject. Our view was shaped by the large body of works dedicated to analyzing the inefficacy of overlay solutions, lawsuits published on public record, and as well overall sentiments from the accessibility community and leading experts.
We urge others to conduct their own research and draw their own conclusions. Iterative development in accessibility and active collaboration with the community yield stronger outcomes.
We appreciate your time and support! Sharing this article helps us in our mission to encourage others to seek proper solutions. While there is no shortcut to achieving full accessibility, the journey is worthwhile and leads to better, more inclusive outcomes for everyone.
Let’s make the next generation of the web a more accessible one. Onwards!
References
https://commission.europa.eu/resources-partners/europa-web-guide/design-content-and-development/accessibility/testing-early-and-regularly/accessibility-overlays_en
https://www.ictaccessibilitytesting.org/ict-2020-overlays-panel/
https://overlayfactsheet.com/
https://www.wired.com/story/company-tapped-ai-website-landed-court/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/gusalexiou/2021/06/26/largest-us-blind-advocacy-group-bans-web-accessibility-overlay-giant-accessibe/?sh=661ea3c35a15
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/screen-reader-users-on-mobile/