Editorial
The Gist
- EAA compliance is now mandatory. As of June 28, 2025, public and private businesses must ensure accessible digital products or face penalties.
- Accessibility benefits everyone. From situational to permanent disabilities, inclusive design improves usability for all users and expands your customer base.
- The financial upside is huge. People with disabilities and their networks represent $13 trillion in global spending power, and most prefer accessible brands.
- WCAG 2.1 AA is the recommended baseline. The EAA points to this standard without mandating specific technical specs, urging businesses to follow best practices.
As of June 28, 2025, businesses that haven’t complied with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) could face hefty fines, lawsuits and eventual product withdrawal from the EU market.
The latest legislation aimed at furthering digital inclusivity builds on the 2016 Web Accessibility Directive, which required all public sector websites and mobile apps to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.
Now, both public and private businesses operating in the EU will have to achieve accessibility in products, services and digital content. Critically, reaching EAA compliance is an opportunity to foster inclusivity, improve the customer experience, and win over a loyal consumer segment worth $8 trillion.
Table of Contents
- The EAA Will Have a Far-Reaching Impact
- Accessibility Barriers Affect More Than You Think
- WCAG 2.1 Principles and Conformance Levels
- Penalties for Non-Compliance Can Be Costly
- Doing the Right Thing is Also Good for Business
- Accessibility Is Founded in Good UX
- The Opportunity With Digital Accessibility Outweighs the Burden
The EAA Will Have a Far-Reaching Impact
The EAA aims to regulate many of the digital products and services that most impact people with disabilities. This includes but is not limited to computers, ATMs, smartphones, ecommerce websites and audio-visual equipment.
Perhaps its most broadly defined category is “ecommerce,” which according to the directive is “a service provided at distance, through websites and mobile device-based services, by electronic means and at the individual request of a consumer, with a view to concluding a consumer contract.”
This sweeping definition applies to almost any product or mobile app that processes a transaction between two parties that aren’t physically present. Everything from product marketplaces to hotel booking services, payment platforms to digital courses, ticket providers to gambling platforms — these are all covered under the directive’s definition of ecommerce.
Related Article: What Digital Experience Leaders Need to Know About the European Accessibility Act
Accessibility Barriers Affect More Than You Think
When we think of disabilities, generally we think of permanent ones, like a visual impairment that requires the use of glasses, or a hearing impairment that necessitates the use of a hearing aid. But this is only one of three general categories of disability:
- Permanent disability: Blindness.
- Temporary disability: Broken arm.
- Situational disability: Hearing difficulties due to a loud environment.
These categories considered, it’s likely we all experience a disability on a weekly, or even daily basis. For example, when you’re in a loud restaurant and can’t hear your phone ring, that’s a situational disability solved by activating your vibration setting. If you suffer from migraines that cause sensitivity to light, that’s a temporary disability alleviated by device features like dark mode and brightness settings.
We may not think of vibration or brightness settings as accessibility tools, but they are. And data shows that tools like these aren’t as available across digital devices and services globally. Perhaps most concerning is the lack of accessibility features on today’s websites, where many people with disabilities go to purchase everyday items and services:
- 73% of people with disabilities encounter barriers on one in four websites.
- 65% of consumers with a disability say their purchasing options are limited by accessibility issues.
- 81% of people with disabilities say they face issues that are frustrating while shopping online.
WCAG 2.1 Principles and Conformance Levels
These tables outline the four key accessibility principles and the three conformance levels referenced by the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
| Principle | Description |
|---|---|
| Perceivable | Users must be able to perceive the information presented — it cannot be invisible to all their senses. |
| Operable | Users must be able to operate and navigate the interface using various input methods. |
| Understandable | The interface and its content must be easy to understand and use consistently. |
| Robust | The content must be compatible with a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies. |
| Conformance Level | Definition | Recommended Use |
|---|---|---|
| Level A | Basic accessibility features that ensure fundamental functionality is available to all users. | Minimum requirement for basic access. |
| Level AA | Addresses more advanced accessibility barriers and enhances usability for a wider range of users. | Recommended standard for most public and private sector websites under the EAA. |
| Level AAA | Maximum compliance level designed for optimal accessibility, particularly for audiences with significant needs. | Ideal for websites serving people with disabilities or older adults. |
Penalties for Non-Compliance Can Be Costly
Since the EAA allows EU member states to determine and enforce their own penalties, failing to reach compliance can have damaging consequences based on where your business operates. A few examples:
- France: Fines up to €7,500, and €15,000 for repeat offenders.
- Germany: Penalties can reach up to €10,000, and for more severe offenses, €100,000.
- Netherlands: Fines up to €103,000.
On top of these fines, businesses can face reputational damage, potential follow-up fines, lawsuits incurring damages and legal fees and even prohibition or withdrawal of a product from the EU market.
Related Article: Empowering Accessibility: Discover's Story of Inclusivity in the Digital Age
Doing the Right Thing is Also Good for Business
More than fines, what should drive us to further digital inclusivity is the people who face accessibility barriers every day. They deserve the same experience many of us have come to expect from every product, service, and website.
Today, there are nearly 2 billion people in the world with disabilities, and they command a spending power that exceeds $8 trillion. When you account for their friends and family, that spending power increases to $13 trillion. How and when they spend that money is very much based on accessibility. Offer a good experience, and research shows that 85% will limit their shopping to businesses they know cater to their disability, and 75% are willing to pay higher prices for goods and services so long as they are accessible. Offer them a poor user experience, however, and 75% will walk away from a business for good.
Online, 69% say they will abandon your website. In the UK alone, this translates to over $21 billion lost per year to competitors.
Accessibility Is Founded in Good UX
The good news is that reaching compliance doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it sounds. If you’ve been following usability best practices, you’re already well on your way. Even fundamental tactics like writing descriptive alt text and organizing content with effective HTML go a long way toward helping people with disabilities and their assistive technologies understand your content.
Still, it’s important to conduct an audit to identify accessibility gaps in your products, services and infrastructure. Check them against EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.1 to ensure that both digital and physical offerings meet accessibility standards.
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Once you identify accessibility barriers, solve them for good by embedding digital accessibility into the earliest stages of product and content development. Update internal policies to foster inclusivity, regularly monitor and maintain compliance and prepare accessibility declarations for your products and services as required by the EAA. To align your interpretation of EAA requirements, consider engaging with authorities in the EU member states where you do business.
The Opportunity With Digital Accessibility Outweighs the Burden
Ready or not, the EAA is coming. Businesses can treat it as a step in the right direction or an opportunity to improve their product while pioneering a more inclusive digital world.
Hanging in the balance is an audience that deserves better, and who will pay for better if you can offer it. When enhancing accessibility can contribute to society and your bottom line, the choice should be an easy one.
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