ADA & Legal Risk
Accessibility lawsuits are rising—2025 federal filings were up 27%, and e‑commerce/retail made up 70% of cases. WCAG AA is the common standard. Demand letters and suits can be costly, but good‑faith effort, statements, and ongoing audits reduce risk.
Web accessibility lawsuits have been steadily increasing over the past decade—and the unfortunate reality is that most companies don’t pay attention to their digital accessibility until it’s too late. According to data from Accessibillity.build 2025 federal filings for accessibility lawsuits have increased by 27.1% from the previous year.
The legal foundation
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally written in 1960, long before the existence of mobile apps and websites. For a long time, digital accessibility was only informally recognized by the DOJ because of this. Historically however, courts have chosen to interpret Title III of the ADA—related to the accessibility of public spaces—as applying to websites and digital services.
While the DOJ promoted adoption of WCAG standards as its interpretation of digital accessibility, there was a murkiness to the legal responsibilities around it. In 2024 however that began to change, and the DOJ formally ruled to include web accessibility as a Title II requirement of the ADA; all government entities are now required to adhere to WCAG guidelines. This was a notable turning point for digital accessibility, reinforces the precedent that applies Title III to non-government entities, and is the first step to fully codifying digital accessibility into law.