Overlay Timeline

"Educating accessibility overlay companies from the inside doesn’t work" 🔥 chrisyoong.com/blog/educati...

Another Web Access Overlay Company Sued by a Small Business Another class action lawsuit has been filed by a small business that purchased an overlay monthly subscription, yet still got hit with a lawsuit claiming its website was not accessible. This suit agai...

February 13, 2026 - After failing to get the lawsuit thrown out, UserWay will soon find itself in court. A class action lawsuit filed in July 2024 for fraudulent behavior and negligent misrepresentation will proceed before a Delaware judge.

www.lflegal.com/2025/02/user...

Widgets vs. Direct Remediation: A cost analysis for SMBs - AFixt Despite the fact that accessibility experts across the world have assembled together to speak out about them, and despite there being scores of articles published against them, accessibility widgets are...

Overlays often break screen reader interaction by changing expected behaviors. Learn more from AFixt.

Well this is good news for #a11y

Germany rejects Accessibility overlays for EAA compliance and says regulators won’t audit any website that uses an accessibility widget

chrisyoong.com/blog/germany...

The AI Governance Challenge: Start Small, Grow Smart And Scale Responsibly A maturity-based approach is essential for organizations to manage the complexities of AI development and ensure that oversight supports innovation.

I regularly warn that content on Forbes is pay-for-play.

Here an overlay vendor shares prompts to feed an LLM for testing code, demonstrating LLMs on their own can’t do it without extensive coaching _and_ that coaching needs to be correct (the examples have issues):
www.forbes.com/councils/for...

Daniela Kubesch: Decoding The Impact: Accessibility Overlays Through A Scientific Lens

Only 1 month to go until #TestConEurope! 💻😎

Watch the short video introduction of my talk and join me in Vilnius from October 21st to 24th, 2025 🎙️

Overlay Timeline A reverse-chronological record of headlines, lawsuits, and commentary about accessibility overlays and the companies who make them.

On this day in 2022, #accessiBe publishes a blog post claiming that clients qualify for a tax break under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This claim is very likely false, and would only be worth $120 (if it were true).

Overlay Timeline A reverse-chronological record of headlines, lawsuits, and commentary about accessibility overlays and the companies who make them.

In the first week of September 2021, five companies using #accessiBe overlays are sued in the state of Pennsylvania for failing to make their websites accessible to blind individuals, thus violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Poster of TestCon with a picture of Daniela smiling into the camera and text reading: Daniela Kubesch, Decoding the Impact: Accessibility Overlays through a scientific lens, 21 to 24 October, Vilnius and Online

Come along to #TestConEurope this October, where I'll be giving this talk for the very last time!🎙️✨

I'll demonstrate how #accessibility #overlays interfere with website code, impacting #usability and #UserExperience.

Tickets: testcon.lt (Discounted until August 28 👀)

See you in Vilnius or Online👋

Overlay Timeline A reverse-chronological record of headlines, lawsuits, and commentary about accessibility overlays and the companies who make them.

On this day in 2021 (and again on August 30), the IAAP sends an email blast to their entire membership on behalf of #AudioEye to solicit free data from assistive technology users. The survey results would be used in marketing materials and numerous sponsored articles.

Overlay Timeline A reverse-chronological record of headlines, lawsuits, and commentary about accessibility overlays and the companies who make them.

On this day in 2020, #accessiBe posts a 2hr response to @aardrian.bsky.social's comments. It's a long product pitch using an optimized version of their product (which is different from the overlay many clients use). Some issues are claimed to be bugs, followed by assertions that they work perfectly.

AccessiBe and data protection? - Tink - Léonie Watson Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP)

On this day in 2021, Léonie Watson @tink.uk examined the privacy risks of overlays and made a compelling case. The questions she addressed to #accessiBe about their Data Protection Impact Assessment were never answered.

Another Web Access Overlay Company Sued by a Small Business Another class action lawsuit has been filed by a small business that purchased an overlay monthly subscription, yet still got hit with a lawsuit claiming its website was not accessible. This suit…

In another class action lawsuit filed Delaware, #UserWay was accused in 2024 of making misleading claims about its accessibility widget.

#ARTY Could Get You Sued I can’t actually assert the ARTY overlay will result in a lawsuit, though there is a trend of overlays attracting lawsuits. Attorneys say overlays don’t protect from lawsuits, either. Regardless of th...

There is yet another accessibility overlay vendor out there, though it makes no conformance guarantees. Nor security or privacy guarantees.

“#ARTY Could Get You Sued”
adrianroselli.com/2025/07/arty...

#accessibility #a11y #overlay

I was kinda joking about the mining, my overall point was that the *customers* that overlay companies have chosen are the proof that fixing accessibility isn’t the main goal.

For Blind Internet Users, the Fix Can Be Worse Than the Flaws (Published 2022) Companies say their A.I.-powered tools are the best way to fix accessibility problems online, but many blind people find they make websites harder to use.

On this day in 2022, #accessiBe got some well-deserved attention in the press.

It’s really this thing that gets me. Let’s say you’re on a big mission in the world. You think websites should be more accessible. Websites should work for anyone regardless of their disabilities. You also think the web right now is f…

On this day in 2024, @chriscoyier.net wrote about how he doesn't trust an overlay not to inject a bitcoin miner, a concern that isn't unfounded given previous cases of a overlays being exploited by hackers.

They’ve painted themselves into such a corner they almost have no choice but to master the tactics of having a bad faith discussion dressed up as more “civil” than their critics. It’s not a “genuine conversation” unless you agree with them.

Anthropologically, his mind is a wonder.

On this day in 2023 (give or take), #AudioEye dropped its SLAPP lawsuit against @aardrian.bsky.social

"This AudioEye lawsuit that seeks to silence a well respected accessibility advocate also impacts potential customers of overlay companies who deserve accurate information about the product..."

Mr. Shaw's trying SO hard to be as cringe as accessiBe was with their 2hr video rebuttal to your original blog post.

Woof. 5 years since I kicked off my “[overlay] Will Get You Sued” series, which helped lead to a million dollar fine earlier this year by the FTC against accessiBe for its constant lies.
bsky.app/profile/over...

Yes, I’m taking some credit for that.

#accessiBe #overlay #accessibility #a11y

Overlay Tools as a Support for Accessible Websites – Possibilities and Limitations Current laws and directives such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and the European Union’s Directive 2016/2102 aim to support people with disabilities. At the same time, they also represent a…

On this day in 2022, a conference paper compared accessiBe, UserWay, and EqualWeb raised two questions:

1. To what extent overlay tools provide real accessibility improvements?
2. Is it possible to identify possibilities and limitations and therefore suggest potential improvements?

#accessiBe Will Get You Sued Disclaimer: This post and the headline is my opinion. I provide facts throughout to inform that opinion. I say this because accessiBe managed to get $40 million in two rounds of funding from K1 Capita...

On this day in 2020, @aardrian.bsky.social wrote about how #accessiBe will get you sued. He detailed how it's inaccessible, the many lawsuits that they're named in, how they pays for praise, disable automated a11y checkers, misrepresent the ADA, don't understand WCAG, and much more.

National Convention Sponsorship Statement Regarding accessiBe | National Federation of the Blind Baltimore, Maryland (June 24, 2021): The National Federation of the Blind, America’s civil rights organization of blind people, carries out the will of blind Americans as expressed through the National...

The Overlay Timeline wishes a Happy "National Federation of the Blind Bans AccessiBe from its National Convention" Day to all who have been celebrating since 2021. 🎉

Level Access Agrees to Acquire UserWay | Level Access Level Access and UserWay today announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Level Access to acquire UserWay

Despite this principled stance, Springer later lead Level Access to acquire UserWay, an overlay company, for $99 million. This acquisition raises questions about whether Springer's views on overlays have changed, and whether he now believes that some level of discrimination is acceptable.

"...lots of organizations do seem to shrug and say something like, "Let's take the cheaper route and take our chances." The problem with that approach is it accepts that ongoing discrimination is okay."

Lies, Damned Lies, Overlays and Widgets Since the publication of this post, I have closely monitored the advancement of overlay technology capabilities. My position on these tools has evolved based on many factors, including the impact of…

On this day in 2020, Timothy Springer, CEO of Level Access, wrote an article thoroughly exploring the shortcomings of accessibility overlay products. He argues that these products over-promise and under-deliver, putting clients and users at risk while failing to achieve true ADA compliance.

On this day in 2024, the Tribeca Skin Center files a class action lawsuit against accessiBe in the southern district of NY for false claims.

accessiBe claimed their Terms of Service disclaims any warranty that a customer's site will be accessible.

lol. lmao.

overlaytimeline.com#2024-06-24

Why your website’s lack of accessibility options is opening you up to lawsuits Throughout this pandemic, we’ve all experienced a dramatic shift in our relationships with our devices. For a world that’s already become addicted to the internet, this addiction suddenly…

On this day in 2020, The Next Web publishes an article paid-for by ACE, an accessiBe product. This is disclosed only at the end of the article, which boasts about accessiBe using AI, testing 10 million websites, and being very affordable. Given the legal risks of using it, it's none of these things.

Lucy has opinions about overlays that should feel familiar to just about everyone:
“Don’t use that accessibility overlay”
accessaces.com/dont-use-tha...

Definitely don’t use ones that collude with drive-by lawsuit attorneys.

#accessibility #a11y #overlay