Premium
Introduction to this Special Issue: Disability, Law and Public Policy, and the World Wide Web
Author(s) -
Blanck Peter
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.2106
Subject(s) - general partnership , library science , legislation , management , public administration , political science , medicine , law , economics , computer science
This special issue, entitled “Disability, Law and Public Policy, and the World Wide Web,” is meant to highlight how information and communications technology (ICT) in general, and the Internet’s World Wide Web (hereafter “web”) in particular, has fundamentally changed the way in which we all, with and without disabilities, participate politically, socially, and culturally within a global network of dispersed communities. Although there is a substantial literature on the web and related law and public policy, fewer articles have examined the implications and promise of the web for persons with disabilities over the life course, and from a variety of disciplinary and internationally comparative perspectives. This issue is especially timely, given ongoing debates in academic, legal, and policy circles about the importance of the web to democratic society and to the values of active citizenship, particularly for those individuals with disabilities who, historically, have been disenfranchised from meaningful public participation. Related questions about the full and equal enjoyment of the web are raised that consider the reach and breadth of web accessibility technical standards and performance criteria to make it available and usable to persons with disabilities. Attempts to address such issues vary across nations and international agreements – for instance, in the definition of equal access to the web under national laws such as the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and as conceived by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). These developments are taking place alongside dramatic and evolving digital information privacy and security considerations, intellectual property copyright and ownership issues, and global issues of free speech and censorship on the web. In examining these matters, this special issue aims to be a starting point for discussion among academics and researchers, legal and social advocates, online service providers, educators and employers, and policymakers interested in emerging issues associated with the full and equal enjoyment of the web by persons with disabilities. The particular