Business Law Journal

Since its passage in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has required “places of public accommodation” to make modifications to promote accessibility for disabled persons.  But what about websites?  We previously discussed the practical and legal complications of the ADA and California’s corresponding Unruh Civil Rights Act with an earlier post here.  Although they can be accessed by the public, a website is not a physical location, even though it may sell physical goods and services.  This question has split Federal Courts of Appeal for years.  Some have held that websites only exist in cyberspace and therefore are not “places” governed by the ADA.  Others have held that a website does qualify as a “place,” so long as it is advertising goods and services provided at a specific physical facility.  The California Court of Appeal had not addressed this issue or its implications for the Unruh Act.