A new European Accessibility Act (EAA) is coming into force on 28 June 2025. Just as with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), all companies doing business in Europe will be required to meet the minimum requirements. Falling behind in accessibility could cost them dearly – with the potential for legal action and hefty financial penalties.
Now’s the time to act to ensure your business is compliant before June. Here’s everything you need to know about the new rules, what’s required – and why it matters. Design Operations Strategist, Patrizia Bertini, from business communications and CX (customer experience) specialist 8×8, also gives us an essential five-step guide to what you need to do before that deadline comes into force.
What You Need to Know
The EAA aims to improve the accessibility of products and services across the European Union. The UK, USA and Canada have similar frameworks to meet accessibility standards.
The EAA represents a significant expansion and strengthening of digital accessibility requirements for businesses operating in Europe, with major financial and operational implications for non-compliance. The key aspects that it covers are:
- Scope – The EAA applies to both public sector and private sector companies that provide digital products and services within the European Union. This is a broader scope than previous accessibility laws.
- Technical Standards – The EAA mandates a minimum compliance level of WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1 at the AA level. This covers a wide range of accessibility criteria for websites and digital applications.
- Enforcement and Penalties – The EAA includes strong enforcement mechanisms, with the ability for competitors to file complaints about non-compliance. Penalties can be severe, with fines up to 6-7% of a company’s global revenue, as well as potential contract exclusions. This means that businesses can cancel any contract without penalty if they fail to comply with the EAA.
- Beyond Websites – The requirements extend beyond just websites – encompassing all digital products and services provided by companies. This includes mobile apps, software, e-commerce platforms and other digital touchpoints.
- Ongoing Compliance – Starting from 28 June 2025, all new websites, products and digital experiences must comply with the new standard. And all products must be retrofitted and made compliant. Furthermore, the EAA is not a one-time requirement, but an ongoing obligation to keep up with evolving accessibility standards and guidelines as technology progresses.
- National Implementation – While the EAA is an EU-level directive, individual member states are responsible for implementing the specific laws and enforcement mechanisms within their countries, leading to some variations.
The UK, USA and Canada have similar frameworks to meet accessibility standards, but the EEA goes further. Currently, UK laws focus mainly on the public sector, while the EAA extends its reach to private businesses too.
In the UK, relevant laws are the Equality Act 2010 (that makes it illegal to discriminate against people with disabilities) and the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (that ensures that public sector websites and apps meet the WCAG standards). The US also recently reviewed its own guidance.
The EAA will be enforced at the national level in EU countries, which means there may be some variation in requirements from member state to member state. To avoid penalties for non-compliance, global companies providing digital services in the EU need to invest in compliance with EAA requirements.
What You Need to Do – Now: Five Steps to Success
Patrizia Bertini heads up accessibility and design operations at business communications and CX specialist 8×8. She and her team are taking a holistic, company-wide approach to accessibility, going beyond just the legal requirements to make it a core part of their business and culture.
Patrizia highlighted the severity of different countries’ penalties for non-compliance: “In some countries like Germany, you face fines for every error, every checkpoint that you are not respecting up to, up to 500,000 euros.” Beyond fines, she adds: “Ireland, for instance, has implemented the clause where they can even put the CEO in jail up to 18 months.”
Patrizia breaks down her five-step plan to the steps you need to take towards compliance:
1. Make a Comprehensive Assessment
- Start with a thorough review of all publicly facing digital assets – websites, products, documents, chatbots, etc. – to assess their current level of accessibility compliance.
- Analyze user data and behaviors to prioritize the areas likely to have the biggest impact.
2. Create a Roadmap and Training Plan
- Develop a detailed roadmap to bring your websites, products and other digital offerings up to the WCAG 2.1 AA compliance standard required by the EAA.
- Consider creating a team of accessibility champions to drive this initiative across the organization.
- Develop training programs that build accessibility awareness and skills across departments like sales, customer service and product development.
3. Partner with Charities to get Expert Insight
- 8×8 is proactively reaching out to local charities to collaborate on accessibility testing and feedback. Your company could consider following suit.
- This allows them / you to get real user input while also supporting the disability community by following best practice, rather than just compliance requirements.
4. Embed an Accessible Mindset
- Consider making accessibility a core part of your company culture and operations, not just a one-off project.
- New branding, websites and digital assets should be designed with accessibility in mind from the ground up.
The goal is for accessibility to become a default, not an afterthought. Put simply – this is not just about complying with laws, it’s the right thing to do.
5. Commit for the Long Term
- Recognize that accessibility is an evolving, never-ending journey as technology and guidelines continue to advance.
- Prepare to continuously update your products and processes to maintain compliance and digital inclusion.
The implications of the European Accessibility Act are far-reaching. The EAA – and other countries’ similar legal frameworks – represent a major shift in how businesses must approach digital products and services. It’s likely to become a feature of the CSR reporting of large companies too.
No longer can accessibility be an afterthought or a box to check – it must be a core part of the design, development and delivery of all digital experiences.
Find out more at: https://www.8×8.com/products/contact-center
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