So I’ve been trying to follow the lawsuit against Target. And I remember when I first heard about it I started thinking, “I wonder where this will lead,” hoping that it wouldn’t create a bunch of rules and regulations I have to abide by when creating websites.
There are plenty of standards that I try to abide by as a web developer.
- CSS – http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
- RSS – http://validator.w3.org/feed/
- XHTML - http://validator.w3.org/
- Link Checker – http://validator.w3.org/checklink/
- Section 508 – http://www.contentquality.com/
- WCAG 1, 2 & 3 – http://www.contentquality.com/
My fear is that this will open a door for the government to have more control over how we can use the internet and what we can use it for. There are already standards in place, like those above, that I (and many other web developers) try and abide by. I hope that Target ignoring these standards won’t create rules that infringe upon my freedom to create websites.
I’ve heard rumors of there being lobbying for all adult websites to have one domain suffix, like .xxx. I’m not necessarily for adult related websites or their content, but I am against restricting what can be on the internet. To me it would be restricting the ultimate public communication.
If a website doesn’t want to be accessible to a certain people group or people who are disabled, that’s their choice. They’ll just lose some of their customer base. Now if they are creating something that is to be used by and for the government, they need to abide by that government’s rules. But there is a fine line where that begins and ends.
My argument is this. Does a Spanish newspaper have to create an English version of their newspaper, or even a braille version for that matter? Will I be able to view a website from the United Kingdom from my house in New York if it doesn’t conform to U.S. standards? Where is the line that dictates how much or how little is required? The more the government gets involved because of stupid mistakes or inconsiderations by big companies, the more leeway the government gets into controlling the internet. I’m not saying that a certain people group doesn’t have rights, but when did the world wide web become a place of regulations and restrictions?
Taxing domains, restricting what can be put on a certain domain suffix (.com), or making me cater to a certain people group is dangerous ground for the government. Will the future hold that I have to make my website accessible to multiple languages if I host my website in U.S. vs. somewhere else ? If I have video on my website will I have to have a text version as well? Will there be restrictions as to what I can write in a blog post? I hope that this lawsuit will end well, but I fear that, very soon, restrictions will limit the internet more than I’d like.
