Accessibility Requirements.

The European Accessibility Act establishes requirements to ensure products and services are designed and delivered in ways that maximize their usability by persons with disabilities. These requirements follow four key principles from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG):

• Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive through different senses.
• Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable by all users, regardless of ability or method of interaction.
• Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable, with clear instructions and intuitive design.
• Robust: Content must be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

These principles ensure that accessibility is addressed comprehensively, making products and services usable by people with various disabilities, including:

• Visual impairments (blindness, low vision, color blindness)
• Hearing impairments (deafness, hard of hearing)
• Motor disabilities (limited dexterity, strength, or range of motion)
• Cognitive disabilities (learning differences, memory issues)
• Speech disabilities
• Photosensitivity

General Product Requirements.

Products covered by the EAA must be designed with accessibility in mind. Key requirements include:

• Accessible Information: Product information (instructions, warnings, labels) must be:
  • Available through more than one sensory channel (e.g., both visual and tactile)
  • Presented in comprehensible ways
  • Provided in text formats that can be used to generate alternative formats
  • Presented with adequate contrast and font size
• Accessible User Interface: Product interfaces must:
  • Be perceivable through more than one sense
  • Provide alternatives to speech-based interaction
  • Allow for flexible magnification and contrast
  • Provide alternatives when color is used to convey information
  • Avoid triggering seizures and allow adequate time for interaction
  • Accommodate different motor skills and physical capabilities
• Compatibility: Products must be compatible with assistive technologies such as:
  • Screen readers and alternative input devices
  • Hearing aids and cochlear implants
  • Assistive listening devices
• Support Services: Help desks, call centers, and technical support must provide information about product accessibility in accessible formats.

Specific Product Categories.

Additional requirements exist for specific product categories:

• Self-Service Terminals: ATMs, ticketing machines, and check-in kiosks must:
  • Support text-to-speech functionality
  • Allow use of personal headsets
  • Provide alternatives to timed responses
  • Be physically accessible to people with different abilities
• Computing Hardware and Operating Systems: Must:
  • Support text-to-speech conversion
  • Provide reliable connection to assistive technologies
  • Enable keyboard control of all functions
  • Allow for alternative input methods
• E-readers: Must:
  • Support text-to-speech technology
  • Ensure accessibility features aren't blocked by copy protection
  • Include metadata about accessibility features

General Service Requirements.

Services covered by the EAA must:

• Provide Information: About how the service works and its accessibility features in accessible formats.
• Make Digital Interfaces Accessible: Including websites and mobile applications by following these principles:
  • Making content perceivable and operable for users
  • Ensuring content is understandable and robust
  • Providing text alternatives for non-text content
  • Supporting various input methods beyond standard keyboards and pointing devices
  • Giving users enough time to read and use content
  • Not designing content that could cause seizures or physical reactions
  • Helping users navigate and find content
  • Making text readable and understandable
  • Making functionality appear and operate in predictable ways
  • Helping users avoid and correct mistakes
  • Ensuring compatibility with assistive technologies
• Design Accessible Policies: Have practices, policies, and procedures addressing the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities.
• Ensure Support Functions are Accessible: Including electronic identification, security, and payment systems.

Electronic Communications.

Electronic communication services must:

• Provide real-time text capability alongside voice communication
• Support total conversation services (audio, video, and real-time text)
• Ensure that emergency communications using voice, text, and video can function simultaneously

Audiovisual Media Services.

These services must:

• Make electronic program guides perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust
• Ensure accessibility components (subtitles, audio descriptions, etc.) are fully transmitted
• Make sure all parts of the service, including apps, are accessible

E-Books.

E-book services must:

• Support compatibility with assistive technology
• Ensure digital rights management doesn't block accessibility features
• Include metadata about accessibility features
• Make text content and formatting accessible to assistive technology

E-Commerce.

E-commerce services must:

• Provide information about product accessibility
• Make all aspects of the shopping process accessible
• Ensure checkout, payment, and account systems are accessible
• Provide accessible identification and security methods

Banking Services.

Banking services must:

• Make consumer banking websites and apps accessible
• Provide accessible identification methods
• Ensure banking machines (ATMs) can be used by people with disabilities
• Make documents and banking information understandable

Transport Services.

Transport services must:

• Provide accessible information about service accessibility
• Make self-service terminals like ticketing kiosks accessible
• Ensure check-in systems and boarding passes are accessible
• Provide accessible information about schedules, routes, and service disruptions

The EAA includes functional performance criteria to ensure products and services are usable by people with various disabilities. These criteria serve as a framework when specific technical requirements don't fully address all features. Products and services must be usable by people:

• Without vision
• With limited vision
• Who cannot perceive color
• Without hearing
• With limited hearing
• Without vocal capability
• With limited manipulation or strength
• With limited reach
• With photosensitive seizure disorders
• With cognitive limitations
• With privacy concerns related to their disability

These criteria ensure that regardless of specific disability, all users can effectively interact with products and services through at least one accessible method for each function.

The accessibility requirements established in the EAA must be implemented by:

• Manufacturers: When designing and producing products
• Service Providers: When developing and delivering services
• Importers and Distributors: When bringing products to market

To demonstrate conformity with these requirements:

• For Products: Manufacturers must prepare technical documentation showing how the product meets accessibility requirements and apply the CE marking.
• For Services: Service providers must establish and document how their services comply with the accessibility requirements.

The EAA includes detailed procedures for conformity assessment through internal production control and market surveillance by national authorities. In cases where requirements would cause a disproportionate burden, exemptions may apply if properly documented and justified.