Digital Accessibility for Digital Service Providers: Be ready for the European Accessibility Act entering into force by June 28, 2025

In recognition of the Week of Accessibility, we are drawing attention to the European Accessibility Act (EAA) that will go into effect on June 28, 2025. The EAA introduces obligations for digital service providers to make their services accessible for people with disabilities. No one questions the need for a wheelchair-accessible toilet in public places. It is time to apply the same principles online. Find out more about the EAA by reading our thoughts.

By Julia van der Veen

Expertise: Data & Digital Services

09.10.2024

From June 28, 2025, a wide range of providers of products and services to consumers in the EU must comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA or the Act) (in Dutch: de Europese Toegankelijkheidsrichtlijn). Since the technical and organisational implementation of the EAA's requirements takes time, it is crucial for organisations to commence as soon as possible.

In this Thought Piece, we:
*The EAA applies to both services and products. As the accessibility requirements for each type of service or product are quite specific, this article focuses on service providers only. Moreover, the scope of digital services in the EAA is already sufficiently broad enough to cover in one article.

This piece is co-written by:
Do you want to take the next step towards digital accessibility and do you have questions about how to proceed? Contact Julia van der Veen from De Roos or Pim Teeuwisse from Digitaal Toegankelijk. Je kan het stuk ook in duidelijke taal (B1) lezen: download B1.

Digital Accessibility
The group of people with disabilities in the Netherlands is large – more than 5.7 million people, or 32% of all Dutch citizens.[1] This group includes not only people with visible, obvious disabilities but also those with partial hearing impairments, dyslexia, color blindness or cognitive limitations. These individuals face barriers that prevent them from participating equally in society, including online. As more of our lives take place online, digital accessibility is becoming increasingly important.

Digital accessibility means removing these barriers. The EAA achieves this by requiring the private sector to make products and services such as computers, smartphones, payment terminals, e-books, and e-commerce websites accessible to everyone, including people with permanent or temporary physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments. At the same time, the Act creates better pricing and competition opportunities by harmonizing national accessibility regulations within the European Union. Above all, the EAA contributes to a more inclusive society and makes it easier for people with disabilities to live independently.

To be accessible, digital services must be designed and built in such a way that everyone can use them. No one questions the need for a wheelchair-accessible toilet in public places. It is time to apply the same principles online.

Step-by-Step Plan for Digital Accessibility
To provide digitally accessible services and comply with the EAA, we recommend organisations to follow these steps. Keep in mind: working on digital accessibility is not just a legal task but requires involvement from multiple teams within the organisation.
  1. Read this article to gain a general understanding of digital accessibility and the EAA.
  2. Create a full overview of services offered by your organisation.
  3. Use sections 4 and 5 of this piece to determine if these services fall within the scope of the EAA.
  4. Raise awareness and gain support for digital accessibility within the organisation: appoint one or two responsible employees and inform the relevant management of the obligations.
  5. Use section 6 to see if an exception applies, meaning that (a part of) the EAA does not apply (yet).
  6. Conduct an accessibility audit on the services, or have one conducted, to determine what needs to be done to comply with the EAA and to achieve digital accessibility. Ideally, this should be an official audit based on the WCAG Evaluation Method. All criteria from the European accessibility standard (EN301549) are included in this method. See section 7 for an explanation of these obligations.
  7. Based on this audit - take the necessary actions: see section 8. This includes (re-)designing the service with accessibility in mind, drafting an accessibility statement, publishing and maintaining this statement and implementing a procedure to ensure the service remains digitally accessible (e.g., annually).
  8. Train staff in digital accessibility to ensure it is continuously safeguarded.
  9. Embed digital accessibility into business processes such as in the procurement and/or HR policy to remain digitally accessible in the future.
Scope of the Legislation on Digital Accessibility
The EAA specifically targets online services that are frequently used by consumers. The Act applies to companies and organisations offering these services within the EU, regardless of whether the organisation is based in an EU member state.

(Semi-)public authorities are exempt from the Act. They already need to comply with rules regarding the accessibility of government websites and apps (Digital Government Act - Wet Digitale Overheid). The EAA takes the next step in enhancing digital accessibility in the private sector.

Although the Dutch implementation legislation has been delayed, the final implementation date of June 28, 2025 will be achieved. In the Netherlands, the EAA’s rules are implemented in various laws:
Overview of Services under the EAA
The EAA specifically applies to the following services, which must comply with the EAA if provided to consumers after June 28, 2025. The EAA distinguishes between existing and new services.
The specific services covered by the Act include:

1. E-commerce services. These are the broadest services of the EAA, encompassing all online services that allow consumers to enter into a consumer agreement. The conditions for a consumer agreement are:
    • the consumer buys a product or enters another type of agreement;
    • the consumer pays a price in money; and
    • the seller is a 'trader' acting in the course of their profession or business.
    The service should enable the conclusion of such agreements. Note: this does not necessarily mean that the consumer enters into the agreement directly with the provider of the e-commerce service. The term ‘e-commerce service’ also applies to platforms with third-party sellers. Consequently, examples of e-commerce services include online stores (Zalando, Wehkamp) as well as marketplaces
    (Bol, Amazon).

    To qualify as an e-commerce service, it is not necessary that the products or services that are offered on the service are covered by the EAA themselves. For example, websites offering insurances, sweepstakes or mobile phone subscriptions must also be digitally accessible. The same applies to universities that dedicate a small part of their website to a webshop, for example, for university merchandise.

    Only e-commerce-related sub-domains of websites need to be made accessible. This means the EAA does not apply to employee login screens or supplier pages. However, customer service and functions for identification, security and payment do need to be accessible.

    2. Electronic communication services. These include services such as internet services, SMS, telephony and other messaging services like WhatsApp.

    3. Services providing access to audiovisual media services. These include for instance websites, online applications and mobile apps that provide access to audiovisual media services like YouTube or Netflix.

    4. Digital elements of national or international passenger transport by air, bus, train and water. These include for instance websites, apps, electronic tickets and ticketing services, travel information and self-service terminals at stations or airports.

    5. Consumer banking services. These include for instance loans, credit agreements, internet and mobile banking, gift cards, mortgages and withdrawing or depositing money. Please note that definitions related to financial services are often quite specific. For example, pension plans may not qualify as consumer banking services, but pension investments do. We therefore recommend to always seek legal advice on this topic.

    6. E-books and related software.

    As with any (new) law, interpretation disputes will likely arise after the Act takes effect. As a matter of fact, several educational institutions have already expressed concerns during the internet consultation about the fact that 'digital learning materials' do not fall within the scope of e-books. The government recognizes this and aims to develop sectoral action plans describing how a sector can gradually achieve general accessibility.

    Exceptions
    The EAA contains several important exceptions that can exempt organisations from the obligations or reduce certain burdens.
    • Micro-enterprises. Service providers with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover and/or balance sheet total of less than EUR 2 million are exempt from all obligations. However, the EAA still advises these companies to take as many steps towards digital accessibility as possible.
    • Third-party content. Content not developed or financed by the organisation and/or over which it has no control falls outside the EAA. This includes, for example, e-commerce services featuring videos created by another party, social media feeds with external content and content linking to external PDF documents.
    • Fundamental change. If complying with the requirements of the EAA would require a fundamental change to a service that no longer resembles the original service, the EAA obligations do not apply. However, service providers must still make all other functionalities accessible that do not require a fundamental change.

      An example of this exception applies to services like Paint or Canva, designed for creating visual designs. If these functions need to be made fully accessible to visually impaired people, the purpose of the program would be fundamentally changed.
    • Disproportionate (organisational or financial) burden. If, after assessment, justification, and documentation by the service provider, complying with the EAA would impose a disproportionate burden on the organisation, the requirements do not apply. However, the service provider must still comply with all other obligations that do not impose a disproportionate burden. Criteria for a disproportionate burden include:
      • The ratio of implementation costs compared to the total cost of delivering the service;
      • The ratio of costs and benefits for the company compared to the benefits for people with disabilities; and
      • The ratio of compliance costs with accessibility requirements compared to the organisation’s net turnover.
    The legislator estimates that the cost of providing information on accessibility to consumers and regulators ranges from EUR 144 to EUR 1,440. This assumes that becoming digitally accessible is a one-time task. However, this estimate only include the costs of providing information. The cost of obtaining information and resolving any findings is not included. The final cost of compliance will depend heavily on the size and complexity of the services.

    If an organisation receives funding or subsidies to make the service accessible, it cannot rely on the exemption of a disproportionate burden. Additionally, the lack of time, priority, or knowledge are neither valid reasons.

    Obligations for Service Providers
    Now for the core of the EAA. What exactly must service providers do if their services fall within the scope of the EAA?

    1. Design and service provision in accordance with accessibility requirements. A service must be designed in order for people with disabilities in the spectrum of visual impairment, hearing impairment, cognitive limitations and/or physical/motor limitations being able to use the service. These requirements are outlined in the European accessibility standard, EN301549. The practical guidelines for this standard are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). More explanation on this can be found on the website of Digitaal Toegankelijk.

    In broad terms, the services must support the most common assistive tools such as screen readers, braille displays, keyboards (without a mouse) and fingers (on mobile devices). Practically, this means ensuring that the service has, for example:
    • clear color contrast on a screen;
    • consistent wording;
    • subtitles in the form of extended audio description (such as relevant sounds);
    • the ability to adjust the style (such as text size) without losing functionality;
    • navigability using only a keyboard with visibility of where the user is on the page;
    • multiple ways to interact with interactive elements;
    • supplemented non-text elements such as images with alternative text; and
    • no content that could trigger attacks or illness, such as displaying a maximum of three flashes per second and preventing automatic playback of media.
    Service providers do not have to figure all of this out themselves. There are best practices available for service providers to learn from. Also, of underestimated relevance are good training within the organisation, creativity and collaboration.

    2. Documentation (accessibility statement). Service providers must publish and retain an accessibility statement for as long as the service is in operation, explaining how the service complies with the Act. According to the text of the EAA, this statement can be part of the terms and conditions of the service, making it part of the agreement with the user. It is questionable whether this is the right way forward and expressly intended by the legislator. The statement must also be made available in an accessible way. The accessibility page of the Dutch government can be used as an example.

    The minimum requirements for this accessibility statement include a description of the applicable requirements, such as:
    • a general description of the service in an accessible format;
    • an explanation necessary to understand how the service works; and
    • a description of how the service complies with the applicable accessibility requirements. This means that you should explain to users what has been done in terms of accessibility, what the plans are, when these will be achieved and how accessibility will be safeguarded in your processes. Ideally, share a link to an official WCAG-EM report to demonstrate compliance.
    3. Implement monitoring procedures. Service providers must continuously monitor whether the service still complies with the EAA. This should be done, for example, when the service is modified, but also when there are new legal or technological developments. It is important to keep an eye on the sectoral action plans that the government claims it will develop together with all relevant stakeholders.

    4. Take corrective actions and notify the responsible regulator. This is necessary when you suspect that the service might not comply with the EAA. The regulator that must be notified differs per sector, see section 8.

    5. Provide information and documentation to the regulator upon request from and cooperate with measures taken by the regulator to ensure compliance.
      Supervision and Enforcement
      Since the rules of the EAA are implemented in different sectoral laws, the supervision will also be performed by existing sectoral regulators:
      • Electronic communication services and e-commerce services (excluding financial services): Authority for Consumers and Markets (Autoriteit Consument en Markt; ACM).
      • Consumer banking services and financial e-commerce services: Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten; AFM).
      • E-books and related software, and services providing access to audiovisual media services: Dutch Media Authority (Commissariaat voor de Media; CvdM).
      • Digital elements of passenger transport: Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport; ILT).
      Supervision will take place in various ways, for example, based on reports and signals of incidents, theme or sector-specific investigations or risk-based approaches, focusing on known risks within the sector.

      Regulators have several options for imposing sanctions, including fines. The ACM can impose a maximum fine of EUR 900,000 per violation or, if greater, 1% of the company's annual turnover. The same applies to the AFM when fining e-commerce services. The AFM can further impose a maximum fine of EUR 1,000,000 on banks and other financial institutions. For the CvdM and ILT, the maximum fine is EUR 67,000 per violation.

      Finally, consumers can claim civil damages from organisations for non-compliance with accessibility requirements. Compliance with the requirements can also be enforced through the courts, potentially through collective actions.

      [1] See: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/disability-eu-facts-figures/#:~:text=How%20many%20people%20have%20a,people%20adults%20in%20the%20EU

      Julia van der Veen

      Data & Digital Services

      Roan de Jong

      Data & Digital Services

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