Click Here (Or Rather Don’t): ALT Text Trend Raises Questions About Web Accessibility

In the past few weeks, X saw a barrage of images baiting scrollers to “Click Here →”. While this left many users baffled as they waded through feeds flooded with the image, political parties, brands, and celebrities jumped on the trend.

The posts urged users to click on the alternative text feature that appears as the letters ‘ALT’ on the bottom left corner of images. This functionality is used to display image descriptions to foster accessibility. 

According to the X Help Center, “Describing what’s in your images benefits people who are blind, have low vision, use assistive technology, live in low-bandwidth areas, or want more context.” The meme did none of the above, instead using the space to conceal a punchline, like a brand’s tagline.

The trend isn’t new, having gone viral and garnering criticism across Northern America and Europe in May 2023.

Backlash Or Lack Thereof

When the trend went viral and was flagged for misusing an accessibility feature last year, some companies apologised and took down their post.

Others like optician chain Specsavers used ALT text the right way by describing the “Click Here” image and taking the opportunity to drive the conversation about web accessibility. 

The description read, “ALT text is a hugely important accessibility tool designed to help people navigate the internet more easily, so it shouldn’t be used as a punchline. This is especially true if the ALT text doesn’t describe the image, leaving blind and visually impaired people out of the joke.”

In India, however, the rhetoric seemed less nuanced, dominated by confusion and indifference. It revealed that many people did not know about the ALT text feature. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party used the ALT text meme for its campaign “Phir ek baar Modi sarkaar” but neglected to use ALT text in any other images for its actual function of enabling accessibility. The Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party were no better. The Congress used ALT text to level allegations against PM Narendra Modi, while AAP urged people to assemble at Ramlila Maidan. Neither used image descriptions pre or post sharing the meme.

Depending on where one stands on the cynicism-optimism spectrum, this blatant misuse can have had little to no inadvertent positive ramifications in raising awareness about alternative text and the larger quest for inclusivity. 

Accessibility By Design Not Addendum

Web accessibility ensures that websites and apps are usable by everyone, including those with disabilities, enabling seamless navigation of digital content for all users.

The world is largely designed for able-bodied people with accessibility tacked on as an afterthought. 

Illustrating this, Naresh Kumar, who teaches History at Delhi University told The Secretariat about the struggle with visual captchas, where internet users identify objects to verify that they’re not a robot. If the user is not sighted, are they relegated to the category of a bot, unable to function autonomously? 

These proof-of-humanity tests, while seemingly innocuous for sighted users, are challenging for individuals with visual impairments. “They effectively exclude us from accessing certain online services,” Kumar said.

The example underscores the need to incorporate accessibility features like auditory alternatives to captchas from the get-go by including persons with disabilities and accessibility specialists in the design process.

The State of Web Accessibility

Zooming out, the latest WebAIM Million report evaluated the accessibility of the top million website homepages. It revealed that 95.9 per cent of homepages had detected failures to adhere to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, the gold standard of digital accessibility, recognised and adopted globally.

Lately, homepages have become more complex and accessibility challenges like low-contrast text, missing image ALT text and button labels (hampering those using screenreaders) persist.

Taking us through the mechanics of using keys and a screenreader—a software that reads out text on a device, Kumar said, “The priority in accessibility are the keyboard mnemonics used to navigate websites. Images come much later given that they aren’t an integral part of our lives anyway.” 

The report cites that government and education sectors fare much better at accessibility, hinting at the success of regulations and development support. 

India’s Accessibility Standards 

The Accessible India Campaign or Sugamya Bharat, launched by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 2015, is credited with improvements in accessibility, including the information and communication technology (ICT) ecosystem. 

The Indian Standard of accessibility requirements for content, primarily for people with disabilities, is IS-17802. 

India has had many guidelines related to accessibility, but when this standard was legally enforced through the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Amendment) Rules 2023 in May, it provided a unified, internationally compatible approach, customised for India.

Prashant Ranjan Verma, the General Secretary of the National Association for the Blind, told The Secretariat that though the guidelines are now robust, the problem is dual-edged—awareness and legal enforcement.

“The laws in India have come into effect very late. Just last year, to some extent, it became necessary for all public facilities, government and private, to make their ICT accessible.” he pointed out.

For government websites, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued Guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW) 3.0 in March 2023. It requires all government websites to obtain quality certification, which includes accessibility, from the Standard Testing Quality Certification, a directorate under the ministry. 

(Lack of) Data On Compliance

By June 2022 MeitY had hoped to make half of Indian government websites accessible, but it is difficult to assess the number of government sites, their accessibility status, and whether accessibility is a mere checkbox or continually maintained.

According to MeitY’s 2022-23 annual report, 310 websites of central or state governments, ministries, and e-voting websites have been certified.

With a validity of three years, the master list of websites marked as Certified Quality Websites (CQW) till 1st January 2024 reveals that many certifications have expired and haven’t been renewed yet.

The Integrated Government Online Directory (IGOD), a source to access Indian government websites at all levels and from all sectors lists 3604 hits for union government websites alone. 

The Digital Accessibility Rights Evaluation (DARE) Index ranks India at 45 out of 137 countries. While India’s laws and regulations score a 20/25, implementation capacity is 15/25 and ICT accessibility by area and level of implementation is an abysmal 13/50.

As of June 2023 everything, even websites of private organisations, should be compliant with the Indian Standard, but little is. 

The laws and guidelines are imperative for an equitable and just internet, but whether or not they’re implemented remains up to individual organisations. Initiatives to review the efforts have been few and far between.

The Biggest Challenge

“Although the guidelines are in place and there is very good progress, we need to implement them and ensure compliance,” Verma said. 

The Court of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities is the principal grievance redressal body for remedying violations of disability rights. 

“If [accessibility measures are] not done the Chief Commissioner can issue a notice, or maybe a small fine,” said Verma. But, this is if a complaint has been lodged. 

One of the earlier cases where accessibility requirements applied to a private entity was when Practo, an online healthcare service provider, was asked to make its website and app fully accessible for people with disabilities. 

The onus to file a complaint, however, falls on those facing the barrier to accessibility. In this case it was a blind lawyer Rahul Bajaj, himself.

Recently, the DGCA was asked to instruct all airlines and travel agents to make their websites accessible and certified for all disabilities or face action. The case again was filed by a blind lawyer, Amar Jain. 

Relying on complaints shifts the burden to affected individuals. Although the Chief Commissioner can issue notices or fines, enforcement is limited, leading to symbolic actions rather than substantial consequences for non-compliance.

The Election Context

National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) and the National Disability Network (NDN), urged political parties to address the issues of the disabled community in the upcoming elections.

Their manifesto states that citizens with disabilities should be considered a decisive voting bloc, forming 7 per cent of the population of India, with over 1 crore registered voters.

The Congress manifesto states that it will provide representation for persons with disabilities in local government bodies and strictly enforce the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. It remains to be seen what other parties pledge with BJP yet to release its manifesto.

With elections around the corner in nearly half the world, the digital world seems rife with sinister problems like disinformation and AI creep, but the structural problem of inaccessibility must be designed away into oblivion.