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A short history of web accessibility

Quick answer

US disability law came first: the Rehabilitation Act in 1973 and the ADA in 1990. WCAG 1.0, the first version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, followed in 1999. In 2024, a federal ADA rule set a web standard for the first time, for state and local government.

This page describes what the rules and public sources say, as we read them on the date shown. It is not a full list, and rules change. We are not a law firm, and this isn't legal advice. Your attorney decides which rules apply to you.

Facts last checked

Three dates to know

  • 1990

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is signed.

    US Statutes at Large, 1990

  • 1999

    WCAG 1.0 is published. It is the first version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

    W3C, 1999

  • 2023

    WCAG 2.2 is published. It is the version we test against.

    W3C, 2023

Before the web

1973 to 1990. US disability law starts before the web does.

  1. September 1973Law

    The Rehabilitation Act becomes law

    Section 504 bars disability discrimination in any program that receives federal funding.

  2. 1986Technology

    IBM announces IBM Screen Reader

    AccessWorld, from the American Foundation for the Blind, describes it as one of the first screen readers for DOS.

  3. October 1986Law

    Section 508 is added to the Rehabilitation Act

    Section 508 covers the technology that federal agencies develop, buy and use.

  4. 1989Technology

    The World Wide Web is invented

    Tim Berners-Lee invents it at CERN.

  5. July 1990Law

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is signed

The web gets a standard

1991 to 2008. The web gets its own accessibility guidelines.

  1. October 1994Standard

    W3C is founded

    Tim Berners-Lee founds W3C, the group that later publishes WCAG, at MIT.

  2. January 1995Technology

    JAWS for Windows is released

    JAWS is a screen reader: software that turns what is on the screen into speech or braille.

  3. May 1999Standard

    WCAG 1.0 is published

    It is the first version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

  4. December 2000Law

    The first Section 508 standards are published

    The rule takes effect in February 2001, and enforcement through complaints and civil actions starts that June.

  5. 2006Court

    NFB v. Target is filed

    W3C's case study records that the National Federation of the Blind sued Target in 2006 and that a judge let the case proceed.

  6. April 2006Technology

    Work on NVDA begins

    NVDA is a free screen reader for Windows.

  7. August 2008Court

    NFB v. Target settles

    W3C's case study records a class action settlement in which Target pays $6 million in class damages.

  8. December 2008Standard

    WCAG 2.0 is published

    The US Section 508 standards adopt it in 2017.

Phones, courts and new rules

2009 to 2019. A screen reader ships on the iPhone, and DOJ opens, then withdraws, a web rulemaking.

  1. 2009Technology

    Screen readers arrive on the iPhone and Android

    Apple announces the iPhone 3GS with VoiceOver in June, and Google announces TalkBack for Android in October.

  2. July 2010Law

    DOJ starts work on ADA web rules

    The Department of Justice (DOJ) publishes an early notice that it plans web accessibility rules under ADA Titles II and III.

  3. January 2017Law

    The Section 508 standards are updated

    The new standards adopt WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA, and must be met from January 18, 2018.

  4. December 2017Law

    DOJ withdraws its 2010 rulemaking

    It formally withdraws the web accessibility notices it published in 2010.

  5. June 2018Standard

    WCAG 2.1 is published

    This is the version the 2024 Title II rule names.

  6. January 2019Court

    Robles v. Domino's Pizza

    A federal appeals court, the Ninth Circuit, reverses the dismissal of a blind customer's ADA suit over Domino's website and app.

  7. October 2019Court

    The Supreme Court declines the Domino's case

    The court denies Domino's petition to hear the case. Turning a case down is not a ruling on the question.

Rules get specific

2020 to today. New federal rules name WCAG and set dates.

  1. March 2022Law

    DOJ publishes web accessibility guidance

    It is guidance, not a regulation.

  2. October 2023Standard

    WCAG 2.2 is published

    It adds nine success criteria and removes one.

  3. April 2024Law

    The first ADA rule to set a web standard

    DOJ's Title II rule sets WCAG 2.1 Level AA for state and local government, and in May the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) does the same for those it funds.

  4. January 2025Regulator

    FTC announces a proposed order against accessiBe

    The Federal Trade Commission announces a proposed order under which accessiBe would pay $1 million to settle the FTC's allegations about claims that its AI plug-in could make any website meet WCAG. The order records that accessiBe neither admitted nor denied the allegations. The FTC approved the final order in April 2025.

  5. June 2025Law

    The European Accessibility Act starts to apply

    The EU adopted it in April 2019.

  6. April 2026Law

    DOJ moves the Title II web dates back one year

    HHS moves the dates in its own rule back one year in May.

  7. May 2026Court

    NFB sues over both extensions

    The National Federation of the Blind files suit against DOJ and HHS in federal court in Maryland.

  8. September 2026Standard

    The newest WCAG 3.0 draft is published

    It is still a draft, not a standard.

Sources

  1. US Statutes at Large, Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 355) (1973)
  2. American Foundation for the Blind, AccessWorld: A History of Accessibility at IBM (2004)
  3. US Statutes at Large, Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986 (100 Stat. 1807) (1986)
  4. US Code, 29 U.S.C. 794d (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act) (2023)
  5. CERN, The birth of the Web (accessed 2026)
  6. US Statutes at Large, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (104 Stat. 327) (1990)
  7. W3C, History (accessed 2026)
  8. Vispero, JAWS Timeline (2026)
  9. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (1999)
  10. Federal Register, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (65 FR 80500) (2000)
  11. W3C WAI, case study of NFB v. Target (accessed 2026)
  12. NV Access, About NV Access (accessed 2026)
  13. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (2008)
  14. Apple, press release announcing the iPhone 3GS (2009)
  15. Google Open Source Blog, post announcing TalkBack for Android (2009)
  16. Federal Register, DOJ advance notice of proposed rulemaking on web accessibility (75 FR 43460) (2010)
  17. Federal Register, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines (82 FR 5790) (2017)
  18. Federal Register, DOJ notice withdrawing four earlier rulemaking notices (82 FR 60932) (2017)
  19. W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (2018)
  20. US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, opinion in Robles v. Domino's Pizza (2019)
  21. US Supreme Court, docket for Domino's Pizza v. Robles (No. 18-1539) (2019)
  22. US Department of Justice, Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA (2022)
  23. W3C WAI, What's New in WCAG 2.2 (2023)
  24. Federal Register, DOJ final rule on web and mobile app accessibility under ADA Title II (89 FR 31320) (2024)
  25. Federal Register, HHS final rule under Section 504 (89 FR 40066) (2024)
  26. Federal Trade Commission, press release announcing its proposed order with accessiBe (January 3, 2025) (2025)
  27. EUR-Lex, Directive (EU) 2019/882, the European Accessibility Act (2019)
  28. Federal Register, DOJ interim final rule moving the Title II web rule dates (91 FR 20902) (2026)
  29. Federal Register, HHS interim final rule moving the Section 504 web rule dates (91 FR 25496) (2026)
  30. CourtListener, docket for National Federation of the Blind v. Department of Justice (D. Md.) (2026)
  31. W3C, WCAG 3.0 Working Draft (2026)

We provide technical accessibility services, not legal advice.

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