Match.com Latest Major Website to Face Americans with Disabilities Act Lawsuit

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Match.com, L.L.C. is the defendant in a new proposed class action lawsuit filed in New York that alleges the website unlawfully contains accessibility barriers that prevent blind and visually impaired users from full and equal access to the online dating service. Citing alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the 25-page civil rights lawsuit claims Match.com is incompatible with readily available screen-reading software and other accessibility technology utilized by blind internet users, and thusly prevents proposed class members from be able to independently browse, navigate, and, the suit reads, find a date on the website.

“The website’s sighted customers can create their own profiles, independently browse through others’ profiles, and find matches online without the assistance of others,” the complaint reads. “However, blind people must rely on sighted companies to assist them in accessing and enjoying the dating services of [Match.com].”

Filed by a blind Arlington, Virginia resident, the lawsuit argues that Match.com is a place of public accommodation under the ADA, and is therefore subject to its accessibility standards. The case alleges the access barriers that prevented the plaintiff from independently navigating Match.com include, but are not limited to:

A lack of alt-text on graphics, which is used by screen readers to audibly describe an image;
Inaccessible forms;
An absence of proper prompting and labeling;
A lack of navigation links;
Denial of navigable keyboard access; and
The requirement that all transactions be performed solely with a mouse.

The complaint claims the plaintiff has made “numerous” attempts to use Match.com, as recently as this month, but has been “completely blocked” from browsing dating profiles due to the defendant’s allegedly exclusionary website.

The full complaint can be read below.