With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) to improve digital accessibility in the EU. The EAA is not a regulation, but a Guidelinewhich sets minimum standards for accessibility. They are to be implemented by the EU member states, although they can also adopt stricter rules. It provides for the following deadlines:
- June 28, 2022EU Member States had to transpose the EAA into national law.
- June 28, 2025: The measures must be applied.
- June 28, 2027Emergency services must meet requirements.
- June 28, 2030Products and services that were already on the market before June 2025 must comply with the requirements.
- June 28, 2045 (or 20 years after installation): Self-service terminals such as ATMs and ticket machines installed before June 2025 can be used until end of life, but no longer than 20 years after installation.
Member States can shorten these deadlines – the minimum standard.
Scope
The European Accessibility Act covers a fairly broad spectrum of Products and services in the B2C sectorwhich must be made accessible to people with disabilities. These include
- Online trading platforms including websites
- Booking systems for appointments and contact forms that facilitate cross-border business transactions
- personal devices such as computers, smartphones and operating systems
- E‑books, e‑readers and digital media
- Cash and ticket machines
- Banking services
- Telecommunications services
- Television broadcasting services and corresponding consumer devices
- public transport services
In principle, the EAA applies to all companies that offer products or services place on the market or offer for sale in the EUregardless of whether the providers or other economic operators are based within the EU. A further specification is missing, as is a de minimis regulation. Accordingly, Swiss companies also fall within the scope of application of the member states’ transposition laws.
- „Offer” means the provision of the service to potential customers in an EU Member State. It includes marketing activities, advertising and the presentation of services on websites and requires that an offer is actively targeted at customers in a Member State;
- „Provide” means the performance of the service in the EU, whereby the place of residence of the consumer should be taken into account.
Implementation by the Member States
Under the EAA, the EU member states were obliged to transpose the EAA into national law by June 28, 2022, and the corresponding requirements must be complied with from June 28, 2025. Not all member states have complied with this.
- ItalyImplementation by Decree No. 82 of May 27, 2022, which comes into full force on June 28, 2025.
- AustriaImplementation mainly through the Federal Disability Equality Act (BGStG) of 2006 and the Web Accessibility Act (WZG).
- FranceImplementation through a combination of existing laws, in particular Law No. 2005-102 of February 2005.
Germany
In Germany The main instrument of implementation is the Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG) dated July 16, 2021, which was published on June 28, 2025 comes into force. It largely transposes the EAA “one-to-one” into German law. As a supplement, an ordinance (the BFSGV), which specifies the requirements.
The general deadline for the application of the measures is June 28, 2025. Transitional provisionsin particular the following:
- Services that use products (which would then have to be accessible themselves) can be provided until June 27, 2030.
- Contracts for services concluded before June 28, 2025 may continue unchanged until June 27, 2030 at the latest.
Scope
The BFSG defines which products and which services in the B2C sector fall under the accessibility requirements. This includes following products:
- Hardware systems for general-purpose computers for consumers, including the operating systems intended for them (e.g. PCs, smartphones and tablets, but not business computers or special computers, motherboards or memory chips embedded in consumer electronics);
- certain Self-service terminals such as payment terminals and associated hardware and software, ATMs, ticket vending machines;
- Consumer terminals with an interactive scope of services, which can be used for Telecommunications services (e.g. cell phones, tablets, routers, modems) or access to audiovisual media services are used (e.g. game consoles, ChromeCast, Apple TV); and
- E‑book readers.
Also included are following services:
- Telecommunications services (e.g. voice telephony, VoIP, e‑mail transmission services, SMS services, video conferencing software, messenger services), but not transmission services for machine-to-machine communication;
- Elements of passenger transportation services such as websites, mobile applications, electronic tickets or electronic travel information and self-service terminals;
- certain Banking services for consumers: consumer credit agreements (without upper limit) and mortgage loans; certain investment services, investment activities and ancillary services (in accordance with the FSIA’s references to Annexes A and B MiFID II); payment services; services linked to a payment account; e‑money (e.g. prepaid cards) – but not insurance;
- E‑Books and software intended for this purpose (e.g. digital learning media such as e‑books); and
- Services in the electronic business transactionsi.e. services offered via websites and apps that are provided electronically and on request for the conclusion of a consumer contract (e.g. websites for the online sale of products or services, even if these products or services themselves would not be covered). However, content from third parties that is neither financed nor developed by the operator nor subject to its control is not covered.
Requirements in general
The BFSG regulates in particular the Requirements for economic operators – i.e. manufacturers, importers, retailers and service providers who offer certain products or services to consumers. In other words, it is a product (and service) regulation based on the familiar model that has gained further recognition, particularly through the AI Act:
- The main obligations are borne by the Manufacturerwho places the product on the market (i.e. makes it available on the EU market for the first time), or the Service providerwho provides or offers to provide a covered service on the Union market to consumers;
- The other players have obligations tailored to their role – importers, for example, may only place compliant products on the market, and distributors have certain testing obligations. Depending on the case, they can also be considered manufacturers, in accordance with the “deemed provider” under the AI Act.
- Market surveillance is the responsibility of the relevant state authorities; a list does not yet exist.
The basic requirements to be complied with are set out in §§ 3 ff. BFSG, whereby a distinction must be made between products and services:
- (Covered) products and services must generally be barrier-free i.e. be findable, accessible and usable for people with disabilities without assistance. A barrier is an obstacle that prevents a person with a disability from participating in society.
- In addition, further requirements apply separately to products and services.
Requirements for products
- The Accessibility of products is assumedif they comply with harmonized standards published in the Official Journal of the EU and if they meet the technical specifications. Specific requirements for the provision of information, product packaging and instructions, the design of the user interface and functionality and other special requirements for certain products are set out in Section 4 of the BFSGV.
- The specific implementation is determined by the State of the art (§ 4 BFSGV).
The product manufacturer must also (§§ 6 and 7):
- a technical documentation in accordance with Appendix 2,
- an internal Conformity assessment procedure carry out a
- EU Declaration of Conformity exhibit,
- a CE marking attach,
- the product with a serial number or another Identification provided,
- certain Information (contact details, instructions for use and safety information in German).
- Upon request, the Market surveillance authorities of the countries provide information.
In addition Retention obligations for documentation, and response obligations in the event of detected non-compliance.
Requirements for services
Suppliers and service providers must Offering and providing accessible servicesi.e. in such a way that they can be found, accessed and used by people with disabilities in the usual way, without particular difficulty and, in principle, without outside help (“material conformity”), and they must provide certain information (“formal conformity”).
Providers and suppliers of services must above all certain information in accessible form (and keep them), and there are also obligations to respond to detected non-compliance and to cooperate with the market surveillance authorities. If a certificate is issued for the service Product the accessibility requirements of the BFSGV apply to these products.
The information to be provided relates to Art, how the service meets the accessibility requirements (BFSG, Annex 3), in the GTC or in another way. These include:
- a general description of the service in an accessible format;
- Descriptions and explanations that are necessary for understanding the performance of the service;
- a description of how the service meets the accessibility requirements;
- Indication of the competent market surveillance authority.
This is doubly problematic: on the one hand, it is unclear what the “functioning” of a service is. One might think that this document is the corresponding contract, but the legislator was obviously thinking of separate information. Secondly, this information obligation overlaps with other special legal information obligations, for example in distance selling or in the financial sector.
This information about the mode of operation must barrier-free i.e. via more than one sensory channel (e.g. information should not only be visual, but also tactile or audible), and elements of non-textual content must be able to be displayed alternatively (subtitles, audio descriptions, etc.). After all, neither all contractual documents nor all information sheets that may be required by special legislation need to be accessible, but only – but still – these special information contents in accordance with the BFSG and BFSGV.
Websites and appsused for the provision of the service (i.e. on which the offers can be presented or bookings and payments can be made) must also be “designed in a consistent and appropriate way that is perceivable, operable, understandable and robust”:
- The relevant standard is the EN 301 549. Although the BFSG itself does not name them, products and services are considered compliant if they meet European standards that “cover” the legal requirements. Because EN 301 549 is recognized as a harmonized standard for the area of accessibility, it indirectly becomes a binding basis. EN 301 549 is used for private individuals with regard to the EEA revised.
- For websites, EN 301 549 refers to the standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), version 2.1, conformity level AA.
Also Documents must be accessible (e.g. in PDF/UA format) if they are part of the service. In the case of banks, this is likely to apply to account information, contract documents, account statements or other documents provided as part of banking services.
Become Help desk, call centertechnical assistance, relay services and training services or other support, they must include information on the accessibility and compatibility of the service with assistive technologies with accessible means of communication.
provide.
Functional elements of servicesfor which no other special requirements apply must also be barrier-free. This applies to visual forms of operation, auditory forms of operation, voice input, manual operation and operating elements – the requirements of Section 21 BFSGV apply in each case.
At Further requirements apply to certain servicesfor example for telecommunications services, passenger transportation services, transport, e‑books, e‑commerce services and banking services for consumers.
Exceptions
The accessibility requirements apply not in three cases:
- services only: for Microenterprises ( EUR 2M; for products, the requirements apply, but with certain simplifications in secondary requirements);
- if the fulfillment leads to a substantial change of the product or service that would lead to a fundamental change. However, this exemption comes at the cost of having to document the assessment and keep it for five years and inform the competent market surveillance authority;
- if the fulfillment leads to a disproportionate burden The criteria for this are defined in Annex 4. Here too, an assessment must be drawn up, documented and retained, and the obligation to provide information to the market surveillance authority also applies here.
Sanctions
If a product or service within the scope of the BFSG is not accessible, the Market surveillance authorities demand remedial action and, in extreme cases, prevent market access. Consumers and consumer associations can also complain to the market surveillance authorities. Complaints insert.
Depending on the type of injury Buses up to EUR 100,000 may be issued.
Because compliance with the BFSG is likely to be relevant to competition, warnings from consumers, associations and competitors may also be considered.
Accessibility in Switzerland
Switzerland has adopted the Disability Discrimination Act (BehiGHowever, the BehiG is primarily applicable to federal bodies and public organizations in Switzerland.
According to Art. 14 para. 2 BehiG, the authorities must take into account the special concerns of the speech, hearing or visually impaired in their dealings with the public and make services on the Internet accessible to the visually impaired without any aggravating conditions.
Art. 10 BehiV also requires that information and communication and transaction services are accessible via the Internet for people with speech, hearing and visual impairments and motor disabilities and that Internet services are set up in accordance with international IT standards, in particular the guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) on the accessibility of Internet sites – i.e. the WCAG – and, subsidiarily, in accordance with national IT standards.
The Public-law framework agreement on eGovernment cooperation in Switzerland 2020 then stipulates that local authorities should be guided by international or national standards when developing eGovernment services and that the standards of the eCH2 association are considered national standards, which are generally binding. Accordingly, the eCH-0059 Accessibility Standard Version 3.0. It is based on the WCAG 2.1 guidelines.
An accessibility checklist is here and a guide for municipalities here.