Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act
House Bill Would Require 18-Month Wait Before Suing Small Businesses Over Website Accessibility
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- This bill changes how people can sue businesses if their websites or mobile apps are hard for people with disabilities to use. Currently, people can often file lawsuits immediately, but this plan would require a long waiting period and several steps first.
- Under the new rules, a person must first notify the business about the specific problem. The business then has 180 days (about six months) to fix the website before the person can take any further legal action.
- If the problem is not fixed after six months, the person must file a complaint with the Department of Justice. The government then has 360 days (nearly a year) to investigate and decide if the website actually breaks the law.
- A lawsuit can only be started after these steps are finished. If the Department of Justice does not finish its investigation within the one-year deadline, the business is automatically considered to be following the law, which could block the lawsuit entirely.
- The goal of the bill is to protect small businesses from 'predatory' lawsuits that demand quick payouts for technical errors. However, it also means people with disabilities might have to wait a year and a half or longer to see website barriers removed.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Life & Work
Small businesses that operate websites or mobile apps would gain significant new protection from immediate lawsuits over accessibility issues. Under this bill, they would receive direct notice of any problems and get 180 days to fix them before any complaint can even be filed with the government. This gives small business owners time to address issues without facing costly litigation, and if the DOJ doesn't complete its investigation within 360 days, the business is automatically deemed in compliance.
Disabilities
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
3 articles
Lawmakers Target Predatory Website Accessibility Lawsuits
Rep. Sam Graves introduced HR 7328, the Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act. The bill would amend the ADA to require formal notification and give businesses a 180-day cure period to bring websites into compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA standards before a lawsuit can proceed.
Legislators fight ADA website lawsuits
U.S. Rep. Sam Graves has introduced the Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act to the U.S. House. The bill aims to protect small businesses from 'quick cash grab' lawsuits by requiring notice and a period for businesses to fix accessibility issues before litigation.
Rep. Graves introduces bill to protect businesses from lawsuits over websites
The Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act amends the ADA so a civil lawsuit cannot be filed until the owner is notified of noncompliance. The owner would then have 180 days to bring the site into compliance, protecting businesses from 'copy-and-paste' demand letters.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Protecting Small Businesses from Predatory Website Lawsuits Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.