ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit: Digital Genealogy Platform
Plaintiff's Firm: JOSEPH & NORINSBERG, LLC
Case Summary
Plaintiff ANTHONY BENSON filed a class action lawsuit against an online genealogy and DNA service provider in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, on October 1, 2025. The complaint alleges that the digital platform's website, www.ancestry.com, is not fully accessible to and independently usable by blind and visually impaired individuals, violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title III and New York state and city laws.
The lawsuit specifically details multiple WCAG violations, including missing alt text on interactive graphics and document previews, inaccessible forms, improper ARIA roles, and broken navigation links. Other barriers cited are unlabeled buttons, keyboard traps, inaccessible modal dialogs, autoplaying videos without pause controls, improperly structured tables, mouse-dependent controls lacking keyboard equivalents, markup errors like duplicate IDs and empty button elements, untagged PDFs, and an illogical tab order, all preventing meaningful engagement with the service.
This action highlights the ongoing legal risks for online platforms that fail to adhere to digital accessibility standards, particularly WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Businesses offering subscription-based services, interactive tools, and extensive digital archives must ensure their websites and applications are accessible to all users to avoid similar litigation and ensure compliance with federal and state accessibility mandates.
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Case Q&A
What specific WCAG violations is this digital genealogy platform accused of?
The platform is accused of having missing alt text on interactive graphics and document previews, inaccessible forms, improper ARIA roles, broken navigation links, unlabeled buttons, keyboard traps, inaccessible modal dialogs, autoplaying videos without pause controls, and untagged PDFs.
Who filed this lawsuit, and which law firm?
This lawsuit was filed by Plaintiff ANTHONY BENSON, represented by JOSEPH & NORINSBERG, LLC.
What legal risk does this create?
This case highlights the significant legal risk for online platforms, particularly those offering subscription-based services and interactive tools, of being sued under ADA Title III for failing to provide accessible digital content to blind and visually impaired users.