The Trump administration moved to weaken the DOJ's website accessibility rule requiring state and local government websites to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Biden-era Title II rule (finalized April 2024) remains technically in effect but is being actively undermined.
In March 2025, the DOJ withdrew 11 non-binding ADA guidance documents. In September 2025, the DOJ announced it would reconsider whether the rule could be 'made less costly.' In February 2026, the DOJ submitted a revised 'Interim Final Rule' to OIRA that could weaken requirements before the April 2026 compliance deadline. The private-sector Title III accessibility rulemaking — which would have extended standards to businesses serving the public — was dropped from the regulatory agenda entirely.
The Title II rule had been in development for over a decade, with DOJ first issuing an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in 2010. Over 70 million Americans have disabilities — including blind users, deaf users, and people with motor impairments. Courts had increasingly ruled that the ADA applies to websites, but without clear federal standards, compliance was inconsistent and enforcement relied on costly individual lawsuits.
During the COVID pandemic, government services moved massively online. Disability rights organizations documented thousands of inaccessible government websites — from voting registration to unemployment insurance to healthcare portals. The ADA was signed into law in 1990 — over 35 years later, the standards that finally emerged are being weakened before they take full effect.