On April 17, 2019, the European Parliament adopted EU Directive 2019/882 (European Accessibility Act, EAA), which EU member states must transpose into national law by 28 June, 2025 – such as the Accessibility Strengthening Act in Germany (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz, BFSG).
The aim of the directive is to make it easier for people with disabilities to access products and services in the private sector. This includes web and mobile applications, as well as numerous components of the online experience: hardware and operating systems, telecommunications, news media, bank and financial services, TV offerings, streaming services, and e-commerce platforms in the future must be accessible to all users.
The EAA is based on an established foundation. Within the standard for digital accessibility EN 301 549, web and mobile applications are governed by WCAG 2.1, the international standard for the accessible design of internet services. And the guidelines will adapt to ongoing developments. It is likely that WCAG 2.2 will be used as a basis in the near future, followed by WCAG 3.0 at a later date.
So, what does this mean exactly?
Which companies are affected by the European Accessibility Act and how they can prepare themselves
All companies that provide products or services in the EU, and this of course includes Swiss companies, are also subject to the EAA and must eliminate barriers in their offering. However, the EU accessibility directive excludes companies that have less than ten employees and have a maximum annual revenue or an annual balance sheet total of no more than two million EUR. This applies to 92.8% of companies in the EU.
But if these companies offer products or services via a website, it is in their best interest as well to apply the WCAG guidelines. On the one hand, an accessible digital offering not only benefits people with disabilities – all users profit from the improved service experience a barrier-free design of user interfaces provides. On the other hand, managers who dismiss accessibility could be in for a nasty surprise if their business grows. As soon as the above-mentioned reference values are exceeded, the provisions of the EU directive apply.
What if a company ignores the European Accessibility Act?
Failing to comply with the requirements can be a costly affair. If a company violates the EAA, this may lead to a fine, or even several fines, as multiple EU member states can file their own separate lawsuits against the company. The enforcement of the law and the corresponding penalties are handled differently depending on the EU member state. In Ireland, disregarding the EAA can result in a fine of up to EUR 60,000 and potentially even a prison sentence of up to 18 months. According to Otto Sleeking, lawyer at Taylor Wessing, the fine in the Netherlands can amount to 103,000 EUR.
The penalties are determined by the severity of the offense, with the consequences for the respective user groups playing a role as well. So companies both in and outside the EU should take the EAA seriously. A wait-and-see approach is not advisable here, especially when considering the reputational damage a conviction could entail.
These aspects of digital offerings often show room for improvement
The clock is ticking: just under nine months remain until the EAA comes into force in June 2025. Banks and insurance companies with business interests in the EU should act now. The amount of action required depends on whether and how much attention has been given to accessibility in the past. A detailed accessibility assessment will shed light on how accessible your website is and help create a step-by-step guideline towards compliance.
Below are three examples of digital hurdles that pose a challenge for screen readers and other assistive technologies. These are some of the accessibility problems that banks or insurance companies may have to deal with.
Opening a bank account
A process that involves just a few steps. Unfortunately, screen reader users are often not able to go through the entire user journey because, for example, they can’t reach the checkbox that must be ticked to accept the terms and conditions. It must therefore be ensured that each and every element of a form can be focused and reached using the tab key. Problems of this kind occur more frequently than you might think, although there are plenty of examples online that show how to do it right.
Contact form
Contact forms can be a nightmare if they are not well structured and unnecessarily complex. A contact form should be easy to fill out, i.e., the user knows what information is required. The form fields accordingly are linked to a label that is read out by the screen reader as soon as a field is focused on. If the form can’t be submitted, the user should receive a clear error message. Such error messages as «Please fill in the fields marked in red» are of no use to blind people.
Mortgage, pension, and premium calculator
Various barriers can occur here: All input fields of a calculator should be clearly marked with text. The button for submitting the form must also be tagged with a textual label, and activating this button should be possible without clicking the mouse, for example, with a keyboard shortcut via the screen reader.
The result of a calculation must be readable using a screen reader. Implementing a simple HTML table with corresponding descriptions is no problem and can also be helpful for other users as a supplement to any existing visuals.
The European Accessibility Act between hope and realistic expectations
The bachelor's thesis of Nils Kümin presents a collection of statements on the EAA from people with a disability. The opinions within different groups of disabled people vary between skepticism and positive expectations. Some believe that the EAA is just a paper tiger and that little or nothing will change for people with disabilities. Others think that particularly the possibility of suing a company can provide significant leverage.
The truth lies somewhere in between. If a large company were to be sued and found guilty of violations against the EAA, this would set a precedent that puts other companies under pressure. However, if you want to achieve something with punishments, it makes sense to first ask who you should punish:
- The universities, because accessibility is not part of the curriculum and thus the necessary skills have to be taught by the employer?
- IT companies that use and promote technologies that are not accessible and do not follow W3C standards?
- Product owners, project managers, and software architects who consider accessibility an unnecessary expense, a necessary evil, a waste of time?
Or would it not make more sense to offer positive incentives such as:
- Awarding prizes for individuals or companies – an accessibility Oscar, so to speak – for outstanding work in the field of accessibility?
- Granting honorary doctorates to people who have successfully campaigned for accessibility over a long period of time?
- Establishing accessibility as a field of interdisciplinary research at universities and universities of applied sciences to approach the topic much more broadly?
- Promoting self-help so that those affected become more active again and thus be part of the solution, instead of remaining in the role of victim and leaving the matter to politicians?
- Organizing events together with disabled people to overcome any fear of engagement?
Positive incentives can also result in a copycat effect, while penalties are generally accepted grudgingly, and accessibility requirements are only implemented with reluctance.
How should companies proceed from here?
The upcoming EAA is without doubt a wake-up call for many companies and accompanied by a certain amount of effort. However, the EAA should not be viewed as a mere bureaucratic (and costly) nuisance. Apart from the compliance with legal requirements, a barrier-free overhaul of web presence, products, and services results in further tangible benefits.
If the EAA applies to a company or not, the new legislation offers the opportunity of bringing products and services up to date in terms of user friendliness. This not only can grow the customer base by enabling access for people with disabilities, but also improve the customer experience overall.
Help for self-help and more
Companies that have not yet addressed the matter of accessibility will find good starting points in our webinar (see also the embedded video below) and our white paper. They provide an overview of the topic and shed light on the basic concepts and problems.
For further steps, professional assistance can be of great benefit. If you desire an expert accessibility assessment, want to update your offering, or have more detailed questions about the topic – we would be glad to help.
