Ensuring everyone has equal access to online content and services isn’t just good practice – it’s becoming law. The European Accessibility Act represents a significant step forward in making digital content accessible to all users, regardless of their abilities. Let’s explore what this means for businesses.
What is the European Accessibility Act?
The EAA is a piece of legislation that sets comprehensive accessibility requirements for digital products and services across the European Union. Its aim is to consolidate EU regulations and eliminate barriers created by divergent accessibility rules put into place by member states. Some of these divergent laws that may be more stringent include:
- UK – Equality Act 2010
- Spain – Legal Royal Decree 1/ 2023
- France – Law N° 2005-102
- Germany – German Accessibility Improvement Act
- Greece – Rights of Special Persons in Greece
- Czech Republic – Web Accessibility Initiative
- Portugal – Decreto-Lei n.o 83/2018
- Italy – Decree 82/2022
Each of these laws have their own sets of fines, but are also largely based off the same criteria as the EAA.
Why does it matter?
For businesses operating in or selling to the EU market, compliance with the EAA is crucial. If you do not comply you may:
- Be blocked from doing business in the EU
- Face fines of up to 6-7% of a company’s global revenue
- Adversely affect your reputation
You may say: “my users don’t complain about accessibility. I may not get fined.” That’s possible, but there are other factors at play that are important to consider: only 10% of people report accessibility issues with the other 90% clicking away when frustrated.1 That’s lost business – and according to the World Economy Forum, the disability market has spending power of $13 trillion. That’s a significant addressable market that would impact your bottom-line, fines aside. It’s no surprise that according to Accenture’s analysis of the Disability Equality Index companies that prioritize digital inclusion are:
- Twice as likely to have higher shareholder returns
- Have 28% higher revenue
- See 30% better performance in economic profit margins2
Who does it affect?
The Act impacts any company doing business in the EU – you don’t have to be headquartered in the EU to be affected by the law. You will be affected if you are a North American or APAC company doing business in the EU.
The Act impacts a wide range of services and products:
- Consumer and hardware
- E-commerce sites
- E-books
- Audiovisual content on websites and apps
- Consumer terminals (routers and modems)
- Computer hardware
- Financial services and identification
- Banking and financial services information
- Payment terminal software
- Payment terminal hardware
- Identification methods, such as e-signatures and payment services)
- Public sector, transportation and ticketing
- Public sector web sites
- Transportation services
- Web and mobiles services for ticketing and transportation
- Emergency electronic communications
When does it take effect?
The EAA takes effect on June 28th, 2025.
Key requirements for digital content
Under the EAA, digital content providers must ensure their materials are accessible to users with various needs. Companies need to follow EN 301 549, which is based off WCAG 2.1 AA and focuses on products and assets being:
- Perceivable – Information and interfaces must be perceived by users through more than one sense.
- Operable – You cannot have an interface with interactions a user can’t perform. Users without vision, perception of color, hearing, or vocal capability and / or have limited vision, hearing, manipulation of strength, reach, or cognition must be able to user the product or service.
- Understandable – The information and the interface of the digital product must be easy to understand.
- Robust – The content should be able to be interpreted correctly by a wide array of devices including screen readers.
Some other requirements included within the EAA for digital documents such as PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files that build on the POUR model above include:
- Physical accessibility: Services must be operable for those with limited manipulation or strength
- Visual accessibility: Content must be usable without vision or with limited vision, including proper contrast and color alternatives
- Alternative text for images: Images must include descriptive text to articulate the purpose of the image and the contents within so screen readers can convey information to users who can’t see images.
- Navigability: Bookmarks, links, and a logical reading order help users navigate documents.
- Color contrast: Text and background contrast must be sufficient to make content perceivable to those with visual impairments.
- Forms: Interactive elements, such as forms, should be labelled and easy to navigate using a keyboard.
- Technical compatibility: Products must work seamlessly with assistive technologies
- Document accessibility: Digital documents must be properly structured with features like screen reader compatibility and clear navigation
Important deadlines and exemptions
Businesses should note that while the Act is comprehensive, it includes some important exemptions.
- Accessibility compliance cannot impact the free movement of goods and services
- Companies with fewer than 10 employees are exempt from the legislation
- Accessibility requirements do not apply to products and services that would be fundamentally altered as a result of this directive causing disproportionate burden
- Digital documents published before June 28, 2025, are not required to meet the new standards unless they’re updated or republished after this date.
Universal design: a core principle
The EAA emphasizes “universal design”—the concept that products and services should be usable by all people without requiring specialized adaptation. This approach benefits not just those with disabilities but creates a better user experience for everyone. What if you just wanted to more quickly navigate a file to find the information you wanted? The keyboard hotkeys based off the accessibility tags (headers and paragraphs) enable that. What if you suddenly broke your wrist and can’t use a mouse? You know have a temporary disability! Accessibility regulations are here for you. It really is for everyone.
Business implications
For businesses operating in or selling to the EU market, compliance with the EAA is crucial. Key considerations include:
- Documentation retention for 5 years after product launch
- Tracking of non-compliant products and services
- Potential penalties for non-compliance
- CE conformity marking requirements for market access
Moving forward
How OpenText can help accessibility in-design and post-composition
The European Accessibility Act represents more than just regulatory compliance—it’s about creating a more inclusive digital world. By embracing these accessibility requirements, businesses can:
- Expand their market reach
- Demonstrate social responsibility
- Improve user experience for all customers
- Stay ahead of evolving digital accessibility standards
As we move closer to the implementation deadlines, organizations should start evaluating their digital content and services against these requirements. If you’re looking for post-composition accessibility software or customer communications management software with accessibility built in the design, OpenText has the right solution. The investment in accessibility today will pay dividends in both social impact and business compliance.
Turn accessibility into your advantage
Make accessibility a cornerstone of your customer communications! Join us Thursday, January 30 at 11 a.m. E.T. to explore how accessible documents can go beyond compliance and drive meaningful customer connections. Reserve your spot! Register now.
- [1] Click Away Pound.
- [2] European Blind Union.
