"Companies looking for help making their websites [accessibility] compliant must be able to trust that products do what they are advertised to do," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's bureau of consumer protection. "Overstating a product's ... capabilities without adequate evidence is deceptive, and the FTC will act to stop it."
In a proposed order, the FTC would require accessiBe to pay $1 million that may be used to refund the company's customers, prohibiting accessiBe from overstating its tools' capabilities, while mandating clear connections to endorsers.
AccessiBe, based in New York, sells an AI-powered plug-in that it says can make any website compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and aims to shield against lawsuits for ADA noncompliance.
Many advocacy groups and customers claim that accessiBe's products fail to deliver, stating they can hinder the screen reading applications essential for blind and low-vision users.
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