ADA Title III
ADA Title III is the section of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 12181-12189) that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by private entities operating "places of public accommodation" — including, per US case law, commercial websites.
Detailed explanation
ADA Title III applies to twelve enumerated categories of public accommodation including restaurants, hotels, retail stores, and "service establishments". US federal courts have consistently held that commercial websites fall within the statute when they are operated by, or connect customers to, a place of public accommodation.
The Ninth Circuit's 2019 ruling in Robles v Domino's Pizza (913 F.3d 898) is the leading appellate-court precedent for broad ADA Title III application to ecommerce websites. The Eleventh Circuit's 2021 reversal in Gil v Winn-Dixie (993 F.3d 1266) is the leading counter-precedent for a narrower reading limited to physical places. The Supreme Court has not resolved the circuit split.
Title III is enforced primarily through private litigation — not federal-agency action — which is why "demand letter + settlement" is the dominant pattern for ecommerce stores rather than DOJ enforcement.
How this applies to Shopify stores
Every Shopify store accessible to US customers is potentially subject to ADA Title III. The defensible posture is documented active remediation: scan history, fix records, accessibility statement, monitoring records — all of which AccessComply produces automatically.
Primary source: ada.gov