An Examination of Privacy Policies of US Government Senate Websites.

US Government websites are rapidly increasing the services they offer, but users express concerns about their personal privacy protection. To earn user's trust, these sites must show that personal data is protected, and the sites contain explicit privacy policies. This research studied privacy policy protection of 50 US Senate sites and found that few had comprehensive elements of privacy policies and a general lack of protection of personal data that could be obtain from the website. The study reviewed which specific privacy elements are most often mishandled, as well as suggestions for improving an overall online privacy practice

Empirical Study of Privacy Issues Among Social Networking Sites.

Social media networks are increasing their types of services and the numbers of users are rapidly growing. However, online consumers have expressed concerns about their personal privacy protection and recent news articles have shown many privacy breaches and unannounced changes to privacy policies. These events could adversely affect data protection and compromise user trust, thus it is vital that social sites contain explicit privacy policies stating a comprehensive list of protection methods. This study analyzes 60 worldwide social sites and finds that even if sites contain a privacy policy, the site pages may also possess technical elements that could be used to serendipitously collect personal information. The results show specific technical collection methods most common within several social network categories. Methods for improving online privacy practices are suggested

Analytical Framework for a Comparative Analysis of Accessible Technology Law and Policy

Deliverable 7.1 poses the basis of the comparative analysis to be conducted throughout the whole WP 7 and reviews existing studies on accessible technology and accessibility law and policy in Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the UK. Deliverable 7.1 is divided into two main sections: an Analytical Framework and an Annotated Bibliography. The Analytical Framework discusses the interrelation between accessible technology and ‘active citizenship’, and defines the scope, the main concepts and the methodology of the research conducted under WP 7. It also positions WP7 within current legal scholarship, highlighting its innovative contribution. The Annotated Bibliography, annexed to the Analytical Framework is composed of two main complementary parts (i.e. parts A and B), each one preceded by a roadmap. Part A reviews selected sources on accessibility law and policy in Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Serbia, Sweden and the UK. Even though it cannot be regard as exhaustive, it aims to give a ‘big picture’ of current official legislation and policy on accessibility, and scholarship on accessibility. It is intended to be an immediate and easy to read bibliographic tool for scholars approaching accessibility law and policy in Europe. Part B has complements Part A: it does not list legislation or policy programmes on accessible technology, but focusses on the most recent literature on accessible technology

Externalities and Enterprise Software: Helping and Hindering Legal Compliance

Enterprise software helps organizations comply with laws and regulations, yet software itself creates negative externalities that can undermine rights and laws. Software developers are an important regulatory force, yet many know little about how law and software interact. This work examines developer understanding of legal concepts and examples of the software code and law relationship: payroll, Sarbanes Oxley Act, web accessibility, and data protection

Public procurement and ICT accessibility

Government purchasing of ICT products and services is termed public procurement. Including accessibility criteria in the procurement process may improve employment opportunities in government for people with disabilities and could have flow-on effects for increased accessibility of products in the marketplace. This paper outlines a research project investigating the current status of legislation, regulation and policy of ICT accessibility criteria in public procurement in OECD countries. The research finds that voluntary government schemes were not successful. Mandatory processes based on uniform global standards coupled with compliance will have an impact

Digital Accessibility in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry: Legal and Ethical Considerations

Federal law requires accessibility for public sector websites. What about the web pages and apps of hotels, restaurants, and tourism providers? The Americans with Disabilities Act may cover private sector websites if they are considered a place of public accommodation, but the law is unclear. This Article will provide an overview of the legal responsibilities of operators to provide accessibility to persons with disabilities, discuss the World Wide Web Consortium’s guidelines for web accessibility, and argue that the hospitality and tourism industry has a unique ethical obligation to fill in the gap where the legal system has failed this population

Accessibility of Tourism Websites: Attitudes and Behaviors

While developed countries continue to shape an industry that has somehow become an integral part of the society, it only seems fair that the industry should provide equal access for every member of the society, recouping members of the market that is excluded without notice. The basic tier of service in the web interface is to provide information, before any booking systems and online purchasing (Siegel, 1997). In the travel industry, this basic tier is achieved in many different travel businesses, but consistently in destination marketing websites that solely promotes a tourism destination through delivering information about the specific location. Palmer & McCole (2000) claimed that information technology has created a portal whereby potential consumer can browse through the web interface to view what the destination offers and develop a picture that would contribute to imagining a supposed travel experience. This study will examine the behavior of a website user in assessing the accessibility of Destination Management Organization (DMO) websites. This also acts to suggest the level of complexity that DMO’s may solve by recognizing primary errors and consumer attitude in providing equal access

Writing the Access Code: Enforcing Commercial Web Accessibility Without Regulations Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act

A growing number of private lawsuits allege that businesses are violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act because their websites are inaccessible to disabled individuals. Courts remain divided, however, on the extent to which commercial websites are covered under Title III. Additionally, the Department of Justice has not promulgated commercial web accessibility regulations—adding further uncertainty to the private enforcement regime. This Note argues that Title III broadly covers commercial websites, but that private enforcement is not positioned to spur lasting, broad-based Title III compliance. It proposes that large-scale litigation, state attorney general action, and state laws should be used to usher in commercial web accessibility according to globally accepted standards