EAA

 

Meeting

Duty of digital accessibility

European Accessibility Act
EN 301549

Europa EU Kartenansicht mit der Schweiz in der Mitte

What is EAA/EN301549?

The European Accessibility Act New Window (EAA) is a piece of legislation adopted by the EU in April 2019 that prescribes accessibility for digital products and services.

EN 301549 New Window is a policy document of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), the EU agency that regulates the digital sector. EN 301549 defines official standards for the accessibility of websites.

It is important to know that European web accessibility policy has evolved through a long and often complicated process. For companies to fully understand the European accessibility regulations, a little background knowledge is required.

When did the EAA and EN301549 come into force?

The development of a European web accessibility policy has been a long and complicated process. Since the early 2000s, EU authorities have been making policy decisions that address the needs of citizens with disabilities.
The milestones on the way to complete online accessibility legislation include
  • In 2006, the Riga Ministerial Declaration set the goal of full Internet accessibility for the coming years.
  • In 2010, the European Disability Strategy (EDS) and the Mandate 376 Accessible ICT Procurement Toolkit were adopted to harmonize accessibility requirements for all EU Member States.
  • In 2015, the first version of EN 301549 was published by ETSI to define standards for accessibility in the private sector.
  • In 2016, the Web Accessibility Directive required all public services to make their websites and mobile apps accessible to users with disabilities.
The latest version of EN 301549 New Window was published in 2021 and is based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG, of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). It was developed to take into account other national and international protocols such as the American Section 508. However, the standards were not enshrined in law until the EAA was adopted in 2019.

From the date the EAA came into force, service providers in the EU had up to five years to implement the requirements of the law (the deadline is June 28, 2025). As many have pointed out, companies will likely need this period given the burden that the EAA imposes.

What are the EAA's requirements?

The EAA does not set specific accessibility standards or compliance requirements because it wants to leave flexibility to the law. The EAA's official fact sheet states that the law "does not prescribe detailed technical solutions on how to make a website compliant," although you will find general requirements and non-binding examples in the legislation. For example, the EAA stipulates that a website or digital service must not be limited to a single mode of interaction, i.e. audio content must also be accessible via subtitles and written text via a screen reader.

In practice, however, there are many indications that companies must comply with the EN 301549 standards. For one thing, it is only natural for regulators to consult the official EU document defining web accessibility when assessing website compliance.

Secondly, reference was repeatedly made to standard EN 301549 in the run-up to the codification of the EAA, including in the text of the legislative proposal.

Finally, the European Disability Forum (EDF), which is one of the main non-governmental proponents of the EAA, has made several formal recommendations that EN 301549 should be the basis for EU accessibility legislation. Given that the EDF was one of the key advisors in the formulation of the EAA, it is almost certain that regulators will follow the group's guidance on this point too.

Who has to comply with the EAA?

The EAA is deliberately designed so that it is not a blanket law that affects all sectors. The EAA clearly defines which products and services are covered by the new law. These include:
  • Online Shops (All)
  • Banking services
  • Telephone services and related devices
  • Audiovisual media services, such as television programs and related consumer devices
  • Services in connection with air, bus, rail and other passenger transportation
  • Computers and operating systems
  • E-Books
Although the directive was originally intended for public and government bodies, it also affects private companies. Companies that provide services to government agencies in Europe must ensure that their accessibility standards meet the requirements. The EAA also requires that all online services provided by companies are accessible to people with disabilities.

How do you know if your website complies with the EAA?

With a free accessibility checker tool, you can easily test your website for EAA and WCAG compliance. With accessScan, accessiBe's free website accessibility checker, you get a holistic overview of the accessibility issues on your website. After entering the URL of your website, accessScan performs a quick check, after which you receive a score (compliant, semi-compliant, non-compliant) as well as a detailed breakdown of the accessibility issues (if any) found during the check. You can also download these results in PDF format.

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