Google Maps App Now Tells Users If Locations Are Accessible, But Is It Accurate And Reliable?

The Google Maps app now indicates if a location is "accessible" to wheelchair users. Here's how it works: users can now click on various storefronts and other public places within the mobile app, and it will say whether the locations have accessible entrances. The information is listed under the "Amenities" section for each business.

This is not the first time that someone has attempted to provide information about the accessibility of businesses, as we previously reported, but the fact that this is a project powered by Google means it will likely produce information on many more businesses. It raises quite a few questions:

Is the information reliable? It is our understanding that the information comes from "Local Guides" - users who answer questions in exchange for early access to new Google features. After collecting data over this past year, Google recently added the accessibility information to its popular Google Maps App. We have very serious concerns about people providing "accessibility" reviews when Google has not provided any objective criteria for such people to use. Under Title III of the ADA, there are very specific standards used to define whether a business is "accessible." We suspect that most of the people providing input on the accessibility of a business do not know what these standards are. What standards are they using to judge a business' accessibility? We don't know. The designation also does not necessarily indicate which part of the business is accessible. Is it just the front entrance? Restrooms? Aisles? Dining area? The feature does not go that far. We also find suspicious the fact that the...