Digital accessibility
Definition
Digital accessibility involves making online public communication services accessible. To achieve this, four fundamental design principles need to be taken into account:
- The first principle is to be perceptible. The information must be understandable to everyone, regardless of their disability. For example, the captcha, which validates forms by checking that you are a human being and not a robot, should not be based solely on an image, as this would exclude blind or partially-sighted people.
- The second principle is usability. The interactive elements of the website must be accessible via a keyboard, without relying exclusively on the mouse. People with motor impairments or using assistive technologies must be able to navigate easily.
- The third principle is to be understandable. Information must be presented clearly and concisely. Users must be able to understand the content without ambiguity. For example, hypertext links must be descriptive and clearly indicate their destination.
- Finally, the fourth principle is to be robust. This means, among other things, that a website must be compatible with different technologies and browsers. It must be resistant to code errors and remain functional even if the user uses assistive technologies.
It should be noted that, while accessibility is primarily aimed at mitigating the effects of disability, whether visual, auditory, motor or cognitive, it also helps to create a more inclusive digital environment for all.
European directives
- 1997: Article 13 of the Treaty of Amsterdam contains an explicit clause on non-discrimination on the grounds of disability, which contributes to the promotion of equal rights and also enables the emergence of a genuine European disability policy.
- 2000: The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, adopted in Nice on 7 December, proclaims in Article 1 that “human dignity is inviolable. It must be respected and protected” and prohibits any discrimination on the grounds of disability (article 21, paragraph 1). Similarly, it “recognizes and respects the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community” (article 26).
- 2009: The Treaty of Lisbon gives the Charter the same legal value as the Treaties (article 6 of the Treaty on European Union).
- The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) requires the EU to combat discrimination on the grounds of disability in the definition and implementation of its policies and activities (Article 10) and gives it the power to legislate to this end (Article 19).
- 2016: European Directive on Digital Accessibility
EU Member States must ensure that the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies are “more accessible”, particularly for people with disabilities, by making them “perceivable, usable, understandable and robust”. The accessibility standard is defined in harmonised European standard EN 301 549 v3.2.1 (2021-03). The parts of this standard that are relevant to the directive are listed in Annex A of the standard.
Public sector bodies must regularly provide a detailed, comprehensive and clear accessibility statement on how their websites and mobile applications comply with the directive.
- 2019: European Accessibility Act (EAA). It was adopted by the EU in 2019, and the Member States had 3 years (until 28 June 2022) to transpose the directive into their national law. However, the directive is not due to come into force until 28 June 2025, by which date all new products and services will have to comply with accessibility obligations, with existing products and services only having to be brought into line by 28 June 2030. The obligation extends well beyond Internet access and covers “those products and services that have been identified as most important for people with disabilities”:
- computers and operating systems,
- ATMs, ticket machines and automatic check-in machines,
- smartphones,
- television equipment connected to digital television services,
- telephony services and related equipment,
- access to audiovisual media services, such as television broadcasts and the corresponding consumer equipment,
- services related to air, rail, inland waterway and bus passenger transport,
- banking services,
- digital books,
- electronic commerce.
- The Member States were therefore required to transpose this law into their national legislation. By the end of June 2022, the date initially set, only a few countries had transposed the law, more or less partially.
Focus on standards
International standards
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines(WCAG), published by the Organisation for Standardisation of Information and Communication (ISO). These standards set out methods for making websites accessible to all, taking into account the physical, psychological and technical aspects of users. The first version (1.0) dates from 1999. Version 2.2 has been published by ISO as ISO/IEC 40500:2012. Version 3.0 is currently under development.
- ISO/IEC 30071-1 – Code of practice for creating accessible ICT products and services.
European standards
- EN 301 549 – Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services – This standard, referenced by the European Digital Accessibility Directive, covers web and mobile applications, as well as many other technologies beyond those covered by the WCAG: office documents, software and operating systems.
Use in different countries
We have listed below some initiatives introduced in various EU countries. However, it is difficult to know to what extent European directives are applied in each country. On the one hand, because the European directive, unlike a regulation that would apply uniformly, is transposed differently in each country. Secondly, because few controls have yet been put in place, and any penalties will not be applicable until June 2025.
Belgium
From 23 September 2020, all public services must adapt their websites to be accessible. Checks are carried out under the responsibility of the Federal Digital Accessibility Service. See https://accessibility.belgium.be/fr
The complete transposition of the European directive and the monitoring of its application have been divided between the Federal State and the governments of the various regions, which makes consultation difficult.
Spain
Law 11/2023 of 8 May 2023 transposes the European law on accessibility. This transposition has been criticized by accessibility experts, as it removes previous obligations.
We have noted in passing that web accessibility is identified in Spain as an expert specialty.
France
In France, theEuropean Accessibility Act (EAA) was transposed into national law by LOI no. 2023-171 of 9 March 2023, starting with article 16, which transposes EU Directive 2019/882 on the accessibility of certain products and services.
Dinum (Direction Interministérielle du Numérique) publishes the RGAA (Référentiel Général d’Amélioration de l’Accessibilité) which covers, essentially for the Web part, the obligations of the EAA.
Arcom, which has been responsible for monitoring the application of regulations in public institutions since September 2023, acknowledges that it has limited resources to carry out this task and hopes to be able to rely on automated AI-based tools. For their part, the DGCCRF and the Banque de France will be responsible for monitoring private organizations in the case of money services.
In May 2024, France was condemned for the first time by the administrative court for its inaction on the digital inclusion of national education software.
Italy
In January 2023, theAgID published circular no. 354 of 2022 “Guidelines on the accessibility of IT tools”, which takes into account the adaptation to the harmonised European standard.
It is stated that the Agency monitors public administration websites and applications on a representative sample basis, reporting the results of the monitoring to the European Commission every three years. Private companies with a turnover in excess of €500 million providing services to the public are also subject to reporting obligations. We currently have no information on the results of the checks carried out.
Luxembourg
The EU regulatory framework on accessibility was transposed into national law by the law of 8 March 2023 on accessibility requirements for products and services. An Office for the Supervision of Accessibility of Products and Services (OSAPS) has been set up. Administrative and criminal penalties are provided for. The provisions of the French RGAA standard have been extended to take account of mobile applications and PDF documents.
Netherlands
The Netherlands transposed the directive into a legislative proposal, which was adopted by the House of Representatives on 14 March 2024. The Senate adopted the bill on 2 April 2024. The bill will take effect on 28 June 2025.
Call for contributions
We would like to continue this inventory of the provisions applicable in the various EU countries and beyond. To achieve this, we are calling on our members and contacts to answer the following questions:
- What are the digital accessibility regulations in your country?
- To what extent are they applied?
- Are checks carried out?
- By whom?
- What is the case law in your country on digital accessibility?
- Is digital accessibility the subject of an expert speciality or sub-speciality?
Digital accessibility is a prerequisite for access to justice. The legal profession, as a service to the public, is, like any other, subject to the obligation of accessibility. Do expert reports and judgements have to be accessible? We leave the answer to you.
Some links to take action:
- Digital accessibility
- Document and e-mail accessibility
- Comparison between American Disabilities Act (ADA) and European Accessibility Act (EAA)
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