Is the Internet a public place? It’s a good question—and one the California Supreme Court has certified to review in Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness v. Cable News Network, according to Michael Walsh of Sedgwick.
GLAD filed a class action against CNN for not closed-captioning all of its online videos “and thereby limiting access to those materials by hearing-impaired viewers,” explains Walsh. It claims, under the California Disabled Persons Act, the Internet is a “place of public accommodation” to which the DPA provides individuals with disabilities full and public equal access. “Finding no resolution in existing California law, the Ninth Circuit asked for guidance on the question of whether DPA’s reference to ‘places of public accommodation’ includes websites, which, at best, are ‘non-physical places,’” explains Walsh.
