The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) has sued the Trump administration over delayed website accessibility requirements, arguing the postponement unlawfully stalls protections designed to help blind Americans access essential public services online.
The lawsuit challenges actions by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that pushed back compliance deadlines for web and mobile accessibility standards by one year. The NFB alleges the agencies violated the Administrative Procedure Act by issuing the delays without public notice or input.
“For years, people with disabilities have fought for equal access to the digital services that increasingly shape everyday life – from healthcare and education to voting and public benefits,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, the legal group representing NFB.
“The Trump-Vance administration’s decision to abruptly delay these protections at the last minute is harmful, unlawful, and deeply disruptive for people who have already waited far too long for equal access,” Perryman said in a press release.
According to the complaint, DOJ and HHS issued interim final rules in April and May extending compliance deadlines that had been years in development. The regulations would require state and local governments, as well as certain healthcare providers receiving federal funding, to make digital content accessible to people with disabilities.
Federal officials said the extensions would give covered organizations additional time to comply with the requirements.
The complaint argues that the delay prolongs barriers for blind users and other people with disabilities who rely on digital platforms to access public programs and healthcare services.
Beyond the one-year extension, NFB alleges the agencies “left open the possibility of further delays of compliance deadlines and forecasted an intent to alter the final rules’ substantive requirements too.”
The NFB is asking the court to block the delays and restore the original compliance deadlines.
“We will not wait. We will fight to ensure that the promise of America’s laws, and indeed its founding documents, finally becomes reality for blind and disabled Americans,” said Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind.