Only 1 month to go until #TestConEurope! 💻😎 Watch the short video introduction of my talk and join me in Vilnius from October 21st to 24th, 2025 🎙️

On this day in 2022, #accessiBe publishes a blog post claiming that clients qualify for a tax break under the Americans with Disabilities Act. This claim is very likely false, and would only be worth $120 (if it were true).

In the first week of September 2021, five companies using #accessiBe overlays are sued in the state of Pennsylvania for failing to make their websites accessible to blind individuals, thus violating Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Come along to #TestConEurope this October, where I'll be giving this talk for the very last time!🎙️✨ I'll demonstrate how #accessibility #overlays interfere with website code, impacting #usability and #UserExperience. Tickets: testcon.lt (Discounted until August 28 👀) See you in Vilnius or Online👋

On this day in 2021 (and again on August 30), the IAAP sends an email blast to their entire membership on behalf of #AudioEye to solicit free data from assistive technology users. The survey results would be used in marketing materials and numerous sponsored articles.

On this day in 2020, #accessiBe posts a 2hr response to @aardrian.bsky.social's comments. It's a long product pitch using an optimized version of their product (which is different from the overlay many clients use). Some issues are claimed to be bugs, followed by assertions that they work perfectly.

On this day in 2021, Léonie Watson @tink.uk examined the privacy risks of overlays and made a compelling case. The questions she addressed to #accessiBe about their Data Protection Impact Assessment were never answered.

In another class action lawsuit filed Delaware, #UserWay was accused in 2024 of making misleading claims about its accessibility widget.

There is yet another accessibility overlay vendor out there, though it makes no conformance guarantees. Nor security or privacy guarantees. “#ARTY Could Get You Sued” adrianroselli.com/2025/07/arty... #accessibility #a11y #overlay

I was kinda joking about the mining, my overall point was that the *customers* that overlay companies have chosen are the proof that fixing accessibility isn’t the main goal.

On this day in 2022, #accessiBe got some well-deserved attention in the press.

On this day in 2024, @chriscoyier.net wrote about how he doesn't trust an overlay not to inject a bitcoin miner, a concern that isn't unfounded given previous cases of a overlays being exploited by hackers.

On this day in 2023 (give or take), #AudioEye dropped its SLAPP lawsuit against @aardrian.bsky.social "This AudioEye lawsuit that seeks to silence a well respected accessibility advocate also impacts potential customers of overlay companies who deserve accurate information about the product..."

Woof. 5 years since I kicked off my “[overlay] Will Get You Sued” series, which helped lead to a million dollar fine earlier this year by the FTC against accessiBe for its constant lies. bsky.app/profile/over... Yes, I’m taking some credit for that. #accessiBe #overlay #accessibility #a11y

On this day in 2022, a conference paper compared accessiBe, UserWay, and EqualWeb raised two questions: 1. To what extent overlay tools provide real accessibility improvements? 2. Is it possible to identify possibilities and limitations and therefore suggest potential improvements?

On this day in 2020, @aardrian.bsky.social wrote about how #accessiBe will get you sued. He detailed how it's inaccessible, the many lawsuits that they're named in, how they pays for praise, disable automated a11y checkers, misrepresent the ADA, don't understand WCAG, and much more.

The Overlay Timeline wishes a Happy "National Federation of the Blind Bans AccessiBe from its National Convention" Day to all who have been celebrating since 2021. 🎉

On this day in 2020, Timothy Springer, CEO of Level Access, wrote an article thoroughly exploring the shortcomings of accessibility overlay products. He argues that these products over-promise and under-deliver, putting clients and users at risk while failing to achieve true ADA compliance.

On this day in 2024, the Tribeca Skin Center files a class action lawsuit against accessiBe in the southern district of NY for false claims. accessiBe claimed their Terms of Service disclaims any warranty that a customer's site will be accessible. lol. lmao. overlaytimeline.com#2024-06-24

On this day in 2020, The Next Web publishes an article paid-for by ACE, an accessiBe product. This is disclosed only at the end of the article, which boasts about accessiBe using AI, testing 10 million websites, and being very affordable. Given the legal risks of using it, it's none of these things.

Lucy has opinions about overlays that should feel familiar to just about everyone: “Don’t use that accessibility overlay” accessaces.com/dont-use-tha... Definitely don’t use ones that collude with drive-by lawsuit attorneys. #accessibility #a11y #overlay

This is the first time I’ve heard of a web #accessibility lawsuit *demanding* an overlay: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/... I am assuming incompetence (Hanlon’s razor), but given the amoral and illegal behavior of some #overlay companies, I have to be open to collusion. No link to filing. #a11y

On this day in 2023, UserWay removes all code that changes page content when the WAVE accessibility extensions are activated. WAVE makes plans to remove the warning message about such changes on pages with UserWay installed. accessiBe continues to change page content.

On this day in 2023, WebAIM releases an update to WAVE accessibility tools informing users that accessiBe and UserWay may manipulate page content to suppress detection of accessibility errors, such as making all text black on white, give all images alt="image", etc. resulting in zero WAVE errors.

On this day in 2021, accessiBe is named in the Fischler et al v. Dorai Homes lawsuit as a direct cause of an access barrier. overlaytimeline.com#2021-05-26

On this day in 2018, @karlgroves.bsky.social published "Automated Lies, with one line of code", a thorough accounting of why you cannot magically automate your way into compliance.

On this day in 2023, the IAAP (finally) acted in the interests of people with disabilities by issuing a joint statement with the European Disability Forum on accessibility overlays. overlaytimeline.com#2023-05-18a

On this day in 2023, accessiBe meme spam flooded social media during #GAAD. In an apparent astroturfing campaign, some of the accounts belong to fake businesses. This was 17 days after the CEO's apology to the NFB & claim of overhauling the marketing dept and its leadership.

@dnikub.dev, who wrote a double Master's Thesis on the impact of web accessibility overlays on the usability and user experience for people with permanent visual impairments, has made the ~47,000 word document available for all. 🙌 (Thank you, Daniela!)

May is always a busy month, for us and for overlay companies. Let's catch up on some early May's overlay shenanigans from the past, in chronological order...

“Accessibility Overlays, or as some like to call it: Putting a band-aid on a broken leg” @dnikub.dev 🔥

“The final order bars accessiBe from representing that its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant or can ensure continued compliance with WCAG over time, unless it has the evidence to support such claims.” www.ftc.gov/news-events/...

On this day in 2022, #AudioEye delivers a cease & desist order to @aardrian.bsky.social over some "defamatory tweets", which set off a chain of events that would lead to a failed SLAPP lawsuit and a lot of tangible harms to the field of accessibility.

“I view accessibility overlays like Ivermectin: they are entirely a grift that enables people to continue to make bad decisions.“ 🔥

On this day in 2024, #AudioEye attempts to use an anti-defamation lawsuit to silence a whistleblower. The employee in turn sued them 8 weeks later, alleging that the CEO was running a stock manipulation scheme. Womp womp. trellis.law/doc/20844571...

On this day in 2024, @karlgroves.bsky.social presents his talk All Sizzle, No Steak at the Frontrunners conference.

On this day in 2024, an article about #UserWay and #LevelAccess is published on Forbes through a contributor content program. It is almost certainly an #astroturfing effort to counter criticism of the recent marriage of the two companies. www.forbes.com/sites/gusale...

On this day in 2024, the Financial Times weighed in on #overlays such as #accessiBe and #AudioEye www.ft.com/content/3c87...

On this day in 2024, Level Access completed its acquisition of #UserWay. As @erikkroes.bsky.social puts it: "A company that offers solutions, bought a company that sells issues."

On this day in 2022, the US Department of Justice published new guidance on web accessibility, cautions that overlays don't guarantee accessibility, but offers nothing substantive to enforce this or protect vulnerable businesses. The page has since been deleted by the current administration.

On this day in 2021, VICE News published something pretty good.

On this day in 2019, hundreds of websites learned the hard way that overlays are, by their very nature, another attack surface and potential vulnerability. The Nagich overlay was created by the same folks behind Allyable and EqualWeb.

On this day in 2021, The A11y Project published a fantastic primer on the subject of accessibility overlays. "We view these kinds of products as actively harmful, and a step backwards for digital accessibility efforts."

On this day in 2023, AudioEye plumbed the depths of the Streisand effect by serving Adrian Roselli with a SLAPP lawsuit. While it was ultimately unsuccessful, it the ordeal caused great harm to the accessibility field as a whole.

On this day in 2022, the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference briefly implemented an overlay during its event registration. After an outcry, it is removed. CSUN made it clear that this was a mistake, and that they do not endorse the overlay.

On this day in 2021, Karl Groves launches OverlayFactSheet.com to better inform accessibility practitioners and potential clients of overlay vendors about the nature of this type of product and the falsehoods surrounding them. It has since amassed nearly 1,000 signatures. 🎉

On this day in 2022, the IAAP released "State of Overlays & My Work with IAAP on Grievance Process and Policy Infrastructure"

It wasn’t just a legal threat, these bullies used a SLAPP to sue me for the post. They tried to bankrupt and silence me. bsky.app/profile/over... #a11y #accessibility #overlays #AudioEye

On this day in 2023, @aardrian.bsky.social published a revision of a 2022 article which had resulted in legal threats from AudioEye. Adrian provided video demonstrations and examples of verifiably false claims the overlay company was making. adrianroselli.com/2023/02/audi...

The sheer volume of headlines, lawsuits, and commentary surrounding accessibility overlays can be overwhelming to fully grasp. We made a timeline to help anyone understand and share this rich and cursed saga in digital accessibility. overlaytimeline.com