New laws in Europe risk reputational damage, hefty fines, and even prison terms for businesses who do not take accessibility seriously.
Read on to see if you are at risk and how to avoid any penalties.
What is accessibility and why is it important?
When we talk about accessibility, we are talking about being accessible to people with disabilities – and that is a surprisingly large percentage of people. An estimated 23% of the population has a disability. The figures below are from the CDC in the US, but we see pretty much the same numbers globally. In Europe, that translates to around 100 million people living with a disability.
Data source: CDC
Problems with accessibility can mean that people with disabilities can face barriers accessing products and services – a situation that is obviously unacceptable. To remedy this, legislation has been brought in to ensure accessibility throughout the European Union.
What is the European Accessibility Act?
The European Accessibility Act is a directive that aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services in the European Union, by removing barriers created by divergent rules in member states.
If you offer any of the affected products or services (listed below) in the European Union, you will need to comply with the European Accessibility Act. Rather than thinking of this as an inconvenience, embrace this as an opportunity to widen your range of potential customers and better serve existing ones.
What products and services are affected?
Affected products and services:
- computers and operating systems
- ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines
- smartphones
- television equipment related to digital television services
- telephony services and related equipment
- access to audio-visual media services, such as television broadcast and related consumer equipment
- services related to air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport
- banking services
- e-books
- e-commerce
Industries such as healthcare, agriculture and education are not included. There are also exemptions for microenterprises (defined as enterprises with fewer than ten employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet of less than €2 million).
However, having content that is accessible to all is usually a win-win situation and we are progressively seeing more and more clients request information and services about accessibility, even if they are not in one of the included categories.
When does the European Accessibility Act come into effect?
- All new and updated products and services must be accessible from 28 June 2025.
- All existing products and services must be accessible from 28 June 2030.
What are the penalties for failing to comply?
The European Accessibility Act was passed by the European Union as a whole, but it is down to each member state to decide how to specifically implement this and enforce it with penalties. Penalties should be “effective, dissuasive and proportionate” – i.e. brands are supposed to want to avoid paying the penalty.
Example penalties:
- France: A fine of up to €250,000.
- Sweden: A fine of up to €200,000.
- Germany: A fine of up to €100,000 for each infraction.
- Ireland: Up to 18 months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to €60,000.
As well as:
- Potential corrective action.
- The removal of products/services from a market.
- The suspension of the right to do business in a market.
- Negative impact to brand reputation.
The business case for accessibility
There are several reasons to invest in accessibility, beyond avoiding penalties. It expands the pool of customers who are able to buy your service or product. Remember that 23% of the population has some kind of disability, so being inaccessible means shutting the door on a large number of potential customers.
Accessible products also tend to be better products. They tend to benefit all people, by making things clearer, more readable and easier to understand. The point of the European Accessibility Act (and the dissuasive nature of its penalties) is to try to get companies to create better, more accessible services and products in the first place.
It will cost money – but so does everything else. Product design, development, testing and security all cost money, but we have accepted those costs. Instead of paying legal penalties, why not just make a better product that serves more people? It is a win all around.
Need help complying with the European Accessibility Act?
Our comprehensive accessibility solutions ensure that any brand’s products and technologies are accessible to all, regardless of disabilities such as vision impairment, hearing disabilities, or other physical or cognitive conditions.
Our web accessibility solutions include:
- Audits
- Remediation and development
- Certification
- Compliance reports
We can also support with:
- Documents, including alternative formats
- Live events
- Training
- Consultation
- And more – for our full list of services, click here!
Webcertain is part of the TransPerfect family of companies. If you are interested in any of our accessibility solutions, please feel free to contact us at accessibility@transperfect.com
You can also watch a recording of a webinar that I co-presented on this topic, here.
The European Accessibility Act is coming soon, so if you have not started already, you need to begin working on your accessibility now.
We wish you all the best on your accessibility journey!
