Meetup.com Raises Concerns with New Accessibility Overlay
Meetup.com raised some concerns with the WordPress community (and the broader community of accessibility professionals) this week after it added an accessibility overlay to its website. The overlay, powered by EqualWeb, displays a list of settings that can be toggled, ostensibly to address various accessibility needs. I'm super disappointed @Meetup added an #a11y overlay. Time to look into event calendars for #WPA11yMeetup. We still have to be on Meetup to get events in #WordPress admin, but we don't have to market those pages. Has the community team ever explored Meetup alternatives? https://t.co/pVgYdI5Qs3— Amber Hinds (@heyamberhinds) November 14, 2022 Accessibility overlay products are often marketed as a quick fix solution that will make a website ADA compliant and immune from legal action, when accessibility had not been built in from the beginning. In May 2021, accessibility advocates signed an open letter urging people not to use accessibility overlay products like AccesiBe, EqualWeb, and others. Signatories published a four-part statement that articulates the reasons why overlays are harmful: We will never advocate, recommend, or integrate an overlay which deceptively markets itself as providing automated compliance with laws or standards. We will always advocate for the remediation of accessibility issues at the…
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