[Athen] The European Accessibility Act goes into effect today (6/28/2025)

[Lissner, L. Scott via athen-list]

The European Accessibility Act<https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32019L0882> (EAA) goes into effect today (6/28/2025); should you care?

The act applies to all economic providers (public or private) providing products or services, or offering to provide products or services, in the European Union - including organizations based outside the EU when conducting business within the EU market.

Beyond considering if your organization offers covered services or products in the EU the - tools and strategies being used to implement the EAA can be a valuable resource to support and inform our efforts outside the EU.

The EAA establishes and harmonizes standards for a wide range of products and services including consumer electronics (TVs, smartphones, computers, gaming consoles, etc.), ticketing and vending machines as well as websites and mobile apps.

The EAA's web accessibility standard anchors to WCAG 2.2  instead of 2.1 but overall the approach is similar to the ADA Title II regulations here in the US.   For example, third-party digital content and software.  Embedded tools or plugins used on organizations' website are in scope. "We recommend that organizations make accessibility a requirement during the procurement process and request documented proof of accessibility (e.g., a completed VPAT report) from vendors prior to making a purchase.” Jon Avila

An interesting and promising difference is the mandate for accessibility statements that go well beyond the notice statements typically found on US websites used to mitigate risk.  In essence, the accessibility statement serves as both a public declaration of an organization's engagement with accessibility and a map of access features and barriers (see summary description below)

Since Accessibility Statments must be public-facing documents detailing how services meet accessibility requirements Given the global economy, I am hopeful that this requirement for companies doing business in the EU will accelerate the trend in vendors providing reliable conformance reports (VPATs).
###

 "The legal framework gives us permission to dream" Lizzie Kiama

---------------------------------
Key aspects of an EAA accessibility statement:
Compliance Status: Clearly state whether the service is fully, partially, or not compliant with accessibility standards.

Non-accessible Content: If there are any parts of the service that are not accessible, these should be listed for transparency.

Preparation and Review: Include information about when the statement was prepared, how accessibility was assessed.

Feedback Mechanism: Provide a way for users to report accessibility issues or request accessible alternatives, along with contact information for responsible personnel.




Get Outlook for iOS<https://aka.ms/o0ukef>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman22.u.washington.edu/pipermail/athen-list/attachments/20250628/c7acf96e/attachment.html>