According to regulatory guidance from the US Department of Justice, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that public-facing websites provide equal access to people with disabilities, including by providing reasonable accommodations such as closed captioning for video/audio. However, websites do not have to provide an accommodation if such an accommodation would cause an "undue hardship" for them.
In 2024, Spotify briefly paywalled access to song lyrics behind their subscription service and did not provide an alternative for deaf and hard-of-hearing people. If Spotify were to return to paywalling song lyrics without providing alternatives to deaf and hard-of-hearing people, could this make them liable for damages under the ADA?
