Accessibility Checklist

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This issue is a record of the Web Machine Learning Working Group's response to the Accessibility Checklist. Completed Checklist is required for the submission of the Accessibility review, one of the wide review steps.

The checklist document is structured into the following sections, with top-level conditions reproduced here to facilitate WG review:

• If technology allows visual rendering of content
• If technology provides author control over color
• If technology provides features to accept user input
• If technology provides user interaction features
• If technology defines document semantics
• If technology provides time-based visual media
• If technology provides audio
• If technology allows time limits
• If technology allows text content
• If technology creates objects that don't have an inherent text representation
• If technology provides content fallback mechanisms, whether text or other formats
• If technology provides visual graphics
• If technology provides internationalization support
• If technology defines accessible alternative features
• If technology provides content directly for end-users
• If technology defines an API
• If technology defines a transmission protocol

Based on my initial assessment, only "If technology defines an API" condition evaluates to true for the Web Neural Network API directly.

Through indirection when this API is integrated with other Web APIs other conditions may also evaluate to true, but those interactions are out of scope for this review.

If technology defines an API

This top-level condition contains the following checkpoints:

• If the API can be used for structured content, it provides features to represent all aspects of the content including hidden accessibility features.

Application programming interfaces allow programmatic manipulation and interchange of content, and are being used to create a more imperative Web. While typically APIs exchange data rather than user-focused content, this data ultimately is exposed to the user in some way. Some of the content richness can disappear if the API does not support features like content alternatives, control association, etc. Technologies that define APIs should ensure the API is rich enough to exchange all relevant accessibility information.

WebNN API is not used for structured content (data organized and structured in a particular way on a webpage in HTML).

• If the API relies on user agents to generate a user interface, the specification provides guidance about accessibility requirements needed to enable full interaction with the API.

Content manipulated by an API is generally generated into a user interface. Technologies should provide guidance to ensure that user agents or dynamic content applications expose the full set of accessibility information available in the API.

WebNN API does not rely on user agents to generate a user interface.

Summary

Accessibility Checklist items don't apply to the Web Neural Network API.

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(Reviewed at WebML WG Teleconference – 5 May 2022)

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(a11y review request was submitted 10 May 2022 w3c/a11y-request#26 and this checklist was provided as input.)

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Review feedback received, closing this checklist issue.

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I've re-reviewed the checklist for the purpose of our upcoming CR Snapshot delta wide review and suggest no changes to our initial response that still stands.