AccessiBe Sued: Class Action Lawsuit May Take Down Accessibility Overlay Widget Industry

The leading accessibility widget seller, AccessiBe, has been sued over allegations of false claims - allegations that have been publicly and explicitly made by accessibility experts, professionals, and people with disabilities for years.
AccessiBe will now have the difficult task of reconciling screenshots of marketing materials and claims made vs. the actual capabilities of their accesswidget.
More affiliate testimonials, partner reviews, and PPC ads will not be enough to push past this legal obstacle. And the website accessibility market dynamic will now forever be changed as a result of this litigation.
The AccessiBe lawsuit not only affects the Israeli-based seller, but also impacts other overlay widget vendors and many digital accessibility companies who are misleading consumers into believing their solutions do more than they actually do.
ClassActions.org AccessiBe lawsuit page:
www.classactio...
Complaint:
www.classactio...
Overlay Resources:
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Excerpts from Sherwin K. Parikh MD, P.C. d/b/a Tribeca Skin Center vs. AccessiBe, Inc.:
29. Accessibe sent direct marketing emails to wide audiences similarly representing
that its accessibility interface solves 30% of the ADA and WCAG 2.1 requirements instantly and
that the remaining 70% are solved within 48 hours on an automated basis using artificial
intelligence.
33. At present, practitioners in the field of website accessibility recognize that even the
best automated software can only detect 30% of WCAG guidelines and the remaining 70% cannot
be assessed - let alone remediated - with artificial intelligence but requires human manual
testing.
35. Accessibe actively leverages the rise in lawsuits to market its automated widget by
claiming its widget will prevent and/or defeat lawsuits alleging ADA violations when the opposite
is true. In a tab entitled “Does access Widget mitigates [sic] legal risk?” Accessibe’s website claims
that by installing its product,
"your website is indeed accessible and compliant and in the rare case of such
a claim [alleging lack of ADA compliance], we will provide you with
everything you need to prove compliance. … At this point, you should have
enough to stop any lawsuit in its tracks. However, if the case still hasn’t
been dropped then accessiBe offers a Litigation Support Package which
includes documentation and testing from our R&D team, suggested
responses, and our ongoing support."
36. Under its Frequently Asked Questions Accessibe’s website has also stated: Does accessiBe protect me from lawsuits?
"Absolutely! accessiBe turns inaccessible websites into WCAG and ADA
compliant websites. But not only that, accessiBe provides you with a
Litigation Support Package, in case you need to prove your ADA website
compliance, and guides you through the process.
How is accessiBe different from accessibility plugins?
accessiBe is the only AI-powered, automatic solution in the industry
today that is proven to make websites fully WCAG and ADA compliant
and beat legal cases. accessiBe fully certify and protects your business
from litigation around the clock."
41. Accessibe’s claims that its products prevent lawsuits are false. A survey of cases
filed in 2021 in ten federal districts shows at least 91 lawsuits were filed in those District Courts
alleging that a defendant’s website violated the ADA at a time when the Accessibe product was present on the defendant’s website on the day the lawsuit was filed. A list of such cases is attached
as Appendix A.
44. A defendant showing that it had the Accessibe widget installed at the time the
alleged violation occurred does not stop litigation “in its tracks” as Accessibe claims it will. Indeed,
many courts have denied motions to dismiss that claim mootness based on having Accessibe’s
widget already installed, submitting Accessibe’s “certificate of compliance,” and using
Accessibe’s “Litigation Package.”
The attorneys for the plaintiff in this case are:
Urist Law Offices, PLLC
Joshua Urist
Stein & Nieporent LLP
David Stein
David Nieporent
Law Offices of Ari Brown, PLLC
Ari Brown
Heenan & Cook
John Heenan
#AccessibilityWidget #ADAWidget #WebsiteAccessibility

[@christinamarkel6498]

We need some legislation mandating the ADA TO prove intent.

[@JeremyHollon-ff9ow]

I really hope this is the end of these products...

[@adabook]

I think there's a good chance. The only reason overlay widgets have been so pervasive is because people don't understand them.