Accessibility overlays and the FTC's accessiBe order: what store owners should know

The FTC's 2025 order made accessiBe pay $1 million over WCAG compliance claims. What the order says, what it doesn't, and what stores using overlays should do.

FixReports editorial team8 min read

In April 2025 the Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring accessiBe, maker of the accessWidget overlay, to pay $1 million and barring it from claiming that its automated products can make any website WCAG compliant unless it has competent and reliable evidence. The FTC alleged that the widget did not make all websites compliant and that the company passed off paid reviews as independent ones. For store owners, the practical lesson is that an overlay script does not replace fixing your theme's code, and a vendor's compliance promise is not proof that your store conforms. This is general information, not legal advice.

Key points

  • The FTC announced the complaint and proposed order on January 3, 2025 (5-0 vote) and approved the final order on April 22, 2025 (3-0 vote) (FTC (opens in a new tab)).
  • The order bars unsupported claims that accessiBe's automated products make any site WCAG compliant or keep it compliant over time, and it runs for 20 years with exceptions (FTC analysis (opens in a new tab)).
  • The complaint lists store-relevant failures on sites running the widget, including add-to-cart messages a screen reader did not announce and product filters that could not be used.
  • The order binds accessiBe only. It does not ban overlays or decide anyone's ADA liability.
  • UsableNet recorded 95 to 155 lawsuits a month in 2025 against companies using accessibility widgets (UsableNet (opens in a new tab)).

What did the FTC say accessiBe did wrong?

The FTC alleged that accessiBe made false or unsupported claims that accessWidget could make any website WCAG compliant, and that it disguised paid advertising as independent reviews.

According to the complaint (opens in a new tab), accessiBe told buyers that adding "one line of code" made a site compliant with 30% of WCAG requirements immediately and that its AI handled the remaining 70% within 48 hours, then re-scanned every 24 hours to keep the site compliant. The complaint says most subscriptions sold were the Standard plan at $49 a month or $490 a year, and that agency partners received a 20% discount to resell it. A pricing page screenshot in the complaint also advertises a "Litigation Support Package" on all plans.

The complaint had three counts:

  1. False or unsubstantiated performance claims that the product made any website WCAG compliant and kept it that way.
  2. Deceptively formatted advertising, meaning paid articles presented as independent reviews. The FTC alleged accessiBe paid $1,900 for one review on a web design blog and approved it before publication.
  3. Failure to disclose material connections between accessiBe and the reviewers.

What does the final order require?

The order limits what accessiBe can claim, requires specific disclosures and a $1 million payment, and imposes 20 years of compliance obligations.

ProvisionWhat it requires
INo claims that its automated products can make any website WCAG compliant, or keep it compliant as content changes, without competent and reliable evidence
IINo misrepresenting material facts, such as total cost, limitations or performance
IIINo presenting third-party reviews or articles as independent opinions when they are not
IVClear disclosure of unexpected material connections with endorsers
VBefore a customer pays, clear disclosure that the products will not fix barriers on third-party domains or subdomains that do not also use the product
VI to VIIIPay $1,000,000 and provide customer information for redress
IX to XIIIAcknowledgments, compliance reports, records and a 20-year term

Source: FTC Analysis of Proposed Consent Order to Aid Public Comment (opens in a new tab).

Provision V matters to stores. Checkout, payment, reviews, booking or support tools often run on another domain. The complaint describes sites that sent users to an external domain to complete a purchase or reservation, where the widget was absent and the pages were not accessible, so a disabled shopper may have been unable to buy.

The FTC said the $1 million may be used to provide refunds to consumers (FTC, January 3, 2025 (opens in a new tab)). For any refund program, check the FTC refunds page (opens in a new tab) directly.

What problems did the FTC find on sites using the overlay?

The complaint describes Level A and AA failures on sites running accessWidget, several of them on shopping features.

  • A screen reader did not announce when an item was added to a shopping cart, or when a required form field was missing (4.1.3, 3.3.1).
  • Shoppers could not select product filters such as color and size for clothing.
  • A 5-star rating graphic was read aloud as a "previous" button.
  • Menu buttons reported the wrong expanded or collapsed state.
  • Keyboard traps, missing focus indicators and inaccurate labels (2.1.1, 2.4.7, 1.3.1).
  • Alt text that was missing, inaccurate or meaningless. One clothing product image was announced as a long, file-name-like string of characters (1.1.1).

The complaint also says accessiBe's own testers, in manual tests of sites using the widget, identified errors on nearly all of them.

Does the FTC order make overlays illegal?

No. The order is a settlement with one company about its advertising and endorsements.

It does not ban overlays, rule on whether any website meets the ADA, or bind other vendors. Other vendors are still subject to the FTC Act's general ban on deceptive claims, and the FTC's business guidance on the case (opens in a new tab) tells companies to have evidence that a product works as promised before advertising it. The same discipline makes sense for a store's own accessibility statement.

Why don't overlays fix the underlying problems?

An overlay runs as a script on top of your existing page; it does not change the theme's source code that renders every product, collection and cart page.

The FTC complaint describes overlays as tools for temporary interface changes, such as contrast or text size, that are not intended to permanently alter a site's code. The Overlay Fact Sheet (opens in a new tab), which listed more than 1,000 signatories when we checked in October 2026, says automated repair is unreliable for image alt text, form labels, error handling and keyboard access, and that no overlay can make a website fully compliant with any existing accessibility standard. It also reports that overlays can conflict with the screen readers and other assistive technology people already use.

European disability groups agree. In a joint statement on 17 May 2023 (opens in a new tab), the European Disability Forum and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals said overlays do not make websites compliant with European accessibility legislation and can interfere with users' assistive technology. That matters for stores selling into the EU, where the European Accessibility Act has applied to e-commerce since 28 June 2025 (AccessibleEU (opens in a new tab)).

Do overlays reduce the risk of an ADA lawsuit?

The available data suggests they do not.

UsableNet's 2025 year-end report counted between 95 and 155 lawsuits each month against companies using accessibility widgets, about 1,400 for the year by our sum of its monthly figures. UsableNet's conclusion was that widgets typically do not fix code-level issues and offer little protection against claims. A plaintiff's expert tests what a screen reader or keyboard user actually meets, and an overlay can leave those barriers in place.

What should store owners using an overlay do now?

Keep or remove the overlay as you prefer, but stop relying on it for compliance, and fix the barriers in your code.

  1. Read what the vendor promised. Look for phrases like "compliant in 48 hours", "certificate" or "litigation support" in your contract and the vendor's pages, and ask for evidence behind them.
  2. Test with the overlay switched off. Use a keyboard to go from the home page to a product, choose a variant, add to cart and reach the checkout button, then repeat with a screen reader such as VoiceOver or NVDA. Our free scan runs axe-core on a home, collection, product, cart and content page as a starting point.
  3. Test with it switched on. Check whether the widget's toolbar steals focus, adds unlabeled buttons or changes what a screen reader announces.
  4. Cover third-party domains. List every external checkout, payment, review, booking and chat service, and test or ask those vendors about accessibility.
  5. Fix templates first. Product, collection and cart templates repeat across hundreds of pages, so each fix there has the biggest effect.
  6. Review your accessibility statement. Remove claims of full compliance you cannot support, and give people a way to report barriers.

If you want a prioritized list, the Accessibility Fix Report tests up to 25 pages against WCAG 2.2 A and AA, includes a keyboard-only shopping test up to the checkout button and gives before-and-after code. No tool or report guarantees ADA compliance or prevents a lawsuit.

Frequently asked questions

Did the FTC ban accessibility overlays?

No. The order applies to accessiBe Inc. and accessiBe Ltd. and limits their marketing claims; it does not prohibit overlays or rule on other vendors' products.

How much did accessiBe have to pay?

The final order, approved April 22, 2025, requires accessiBe to pay $1 million, which the FTC said may be used for consumer refunds.

Is my store compliant if it uses an overlay?

Not on that basis alone. The FTC alleged that sites running accessWidget still failed Level A and AA criteria, so you need to test your own pages.

Should I remove my overlay?

That is your choice. What matters is that your theme, content and apps work with a keyboard and screen reader without it, and that the widget does not interfere with assistive technology.

Do overlays help with the European Accessibility Act?

The European Disability Forum and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals say overlays do not make websites compliant with European accessibility legislation. Fixing the underlying code is the dependable route.

Sources

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