The European Accessibility Act (EAA) provides full legislation of accessibility requirements and works towards inclusive cities across the European Union. Adopted on June 7th, 2019, the goal of the EAA is to establish a framework and standardize accessibility requirements across all member states, ensuring that products and services are complete without barriers for individuals with disabilities.
The EAA covers consumer electronics, e-commerce, banking, and telecommunications sectors.
Continue reading to learn more about the European Accessibility Act, including the role of the EAA, an overview of all regulations, a detailed overview of all potential fines, how to avoid penalties, and examples of non-compliance consequences by small businesses and large organizations alike.
What is the EAA?
The EAA is a legal framework for accessibility throughout the European Union, ensuring accessibility standards are met across various sectors.
Regulations Under the EAA
European Accessibility Act compliance and regulations under the law can be best described as falling by sector.
Key regulations and requirements under the act fall across consumer electronics, self-service terminals, banking services, e-commerce, digital content, and public sector websites and mobile applications.
For example, the EAA calls for all consumer electronics to have built-in accessibility features by 2028. At the moment, Apple’s VoiceOver works similarly, offering keyboard navigation options and compatibility with third-party assistive devices.
Under our requirements for consumer electronics, businesses, and organizations must develop accessible user interfaces and provide all necessary supporting documentation.
Another example of regulation can fall on their self-service terminals, where ATMs, banking kiosks, and similar terminals must meet current accessibility standards with valuable features like tactile buttons and adjustable heights for users who use wheelchairs.
Fines and Penalties
Unfortunately, failing to comply with the EAA can result in severe consequences, including fines and lawsuits from plaintiffs seeking accessibility improvements in your brick-and-mortar store or digital workspace.
Here’s an overview of potential fines under the EAA:
Non-Compliance
If you do not comply with the European Accessibility Act, you can face administrative fines costing anywhere from €5,000 to €20,000 per violation. The actual fine depends on several factors, such as the severity of the breach and the type/size of the organization.
For example, a small e-commerce website incompatible with screen readers could pay fines of up to €15,000, whereas a large corporation may face steeper penalties of up to €20,000 for every store in its network.
Daily Penalties
If non-compliance is ongoing, penalties can accrue on a daily schedule where fines can be as high as €1,000 per day. For example, if a company incurs a daily penalty of €500 on January 1st, it will pay €15,000 in penalties by the end of the month. Imposing daily fines is a European Union tactic of encouraging individuals, small businesses, and organizations to remedy accessibility issues quickly.
To learn more about timelines and requirements, visit the EAA implementation timeline and EAA requirements checklist.
How to Avoid Penalties
Adhering to the European Accessibility Act is a must to keep your business above water in the European Union and avoid penalties.
One of the best ways to avoid penalties is to understand the critical components of the EAA. Understand all of the accessibility standards that exist and how they vary by sector, e.g., e-commerce and public transport services.
Another way to avoid penalties is to conduct thorough accessibility audits using manual or automated tools, which can help you quickly scan your website or mobile application and identify issues for quick fixes.
Another way you can increase compliance quickly is by using website accessibility overlays like Accessibly. Applied to your website using a single line of code or as part of native integration with select platforms, Accessibly offers a set of innovative features to promote accessibility, including but not limited to more extensive text, larger cursors, additional reading lines, and higher contrast ratios between text and background colors for the visually impaired.
Lastly, do not forget to implement accessibility standards/look to achieve WCAG 2.1.
A Word on Court Cases
Throughout the European Accessibility Act’s life, plenty of landmark court cases have existed. One is the National Federation of the Blind vs. Target Corporation, in which the plaintiff sought damages from Target Corporation for having an inaccessible website for the visually impaired.
After much deliberation, Target agreed to pay the National Federation of the Blind $6M, reinforcing the importance of web accessibility to avoid lawsuits like this.
Another famous court case concerning European Accessibility Act standards is Chacón Navas v. Eurest Colectividades SA.
In this case, Spanish native María Victoria Chacón Navas sued the company under the Employment Equality Directive, which sought damages for dismissing her while she was on sick leave. After a lengthy trial, she won the case, with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) establishing a precedent that violating sick leave violates European Union law.
As you can tell, landmark court cases do an excellent job of explaining why meeting European accessibility guidelines is essential for businesses and organizations.
Let’s Talk About Accessibly
Increase ADA and WCAG compliance on your website or mobile application with Accessibly, a leading website accessibility widget.
It allows site owners to instantly make their websites more accessible by introducing new features using a navigational overlay. Users can add reading lines and large cursors, adjust colors, rely on audio captioning, and much more.
Accessibly is a lightweight widget requiring only a single piece of code on your site. It can be hard-coded into any website using custom code. Additionally, it offers native integrations with popular e-commerce site builders like Shopify, WooCommerce, and WordPress.
Plus, the Accessibly team constantly upgrades the widget and adheres to best industry practices, rolling out new accessibility features continually.Plus, Accessibly offers a risk-free 7-day trial that provides access to all features. You can start increasing compliance with WCAG 2.1, ADA, Section 508, and EN 301549 in no time. Pricing starts at $20 and goes up to $25 monthly for most platforms.
