Italian web law pulls down barriers
The Italian government has passed new legislation designed to givepeople with disabilities greater access to online services. The so-called "Stanca law", which forces all Italian government agencies to maketheir web sites fully accessible and will develop non-compulsory access standards for private sector sites, was unanimously approved bythe country's Parliament in December.
According to a statement by Lucio Stanca, the Italian Minister forInnovation and Technologies, the new requirements will "help to pull down digital barriers and create opportunities for more than three million Italian disabled people to study, work and actively participate in society." He said that lack of ICT access for Italy's disabled people caused social marginalisation and democratic and economic disadvantage.