Fox News Website Not Accessible to Blind, Class Action Says

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A New York woman says the Fox News website fails to satisfy ADA requirements for accessibility by visually disabled users.

Plaintiff Luc Burbon is raising class action claims against defendant Fox News Network LLC for violations of federal, state and local disability protection laws.

She alleges the Fox News website is riddled with barriers that prevent blind and visually-impaired users from getting the same use and enjoyment of Fox News facilities, goods and services as fully sighted people.

Burbon is legally blind. She uses screen reading software to help her use the internet with as much facility as a fully-sighted person, she says.

But screen reading software only works if the website has been designed to accommodate it, Burbon states. Design standards such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 are available so that developers can make their websites accessible.

The Fox News website fails to satisfy these standards, Burbon claims. According to her Fox News class action lawsuit, she last attempted to access the Fox News website in January 2018. She found she was denied equal access to the facilities, goods and services that Fox News makes available to the rest of the public.

She claims the alleged barriers also blocked her from participating in the goods and services available at Fox News physical locations in New York. Fox News hosts live broadcasts and tapings of shows that audience members can attend, Burbon says. But information about those events, including schedules and ticket information, are unavailable to her due to the alleged accessibility barriers on the Fox News website.

Burbon says her use of the Fox News website was hampered due to the following accessibility barriers:

• Lack of alternative text, or alt-text. Alt-text is text that is appended to images and that describes the contents of those images. Screen reader software can recognize alt-text and read it aloud so that visually-impaired users can know what the image shows.
• Linked images with no alt-text. Without alt-text, screen reading software can’t tell the user about where the link leads.
• Links that are empty or redundant. While these elements may not be problems for users who can use a mouse, they can hamper keyboard-based navigation and cause confusion.

Burbon seeks to represent a plaintiff Class including all legally blind individuals in the U.S. who, during the relevant statutory limitations period, attempted unsuccessfully to access the Fox News website.

She seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions against Fox News, requiring the network to take all steps necessary to bring its website into full ADA compliance. She also asks for an award of compensatory, statutory and punitive damages for violations of New York State Human Rights Law and Civil Rights Law, court costs and attorneys’ fees, all with pre- and post-judgment interest.

Burbon is represented by attorneys Avi A. Naveh of Law Office of Avi A. Naveh, Esq. and by Jeffrey M. Gottlieb and Dana L. Gottlieb of Gottlieb & Associates.

The Fox News Website Accessibility Class Action Lawsuit is Burbon v. Fox News Network LLC, Case No. 1:18-cv-01662, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.