Understanding Accessibility Regulations

Understanding and implementing digital accessibility regulations is crucial for businesses to ensure their products are accessible to all users while maintaining legal compliance.

Making your digital products and services accessible isn't just good practice – it's increasingly becoming a legal requirement. This guide will help you understand the key accessibility regulations and how they affect your business.

Overview of Accessibility Regulations

Digital accessibility regulations exist across different regions to ensure equal access to digital content and services for all users, including those with disabilities. These regulations generally mandate that websites, applications, and digital services must be accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.

EAA (European Accessibility Act)

The EAA serves as the primary accessibility legislation for EU member states. This comprehensive framework ensures digital accessibility across the European market.

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)

The ADA governs accessibility requirements in the US. While originally created before the digital age, it has been interpreted to apply to websites and digital services through various court decisions.

Other Regulations

United Kingdom: The Equality Act 2010 includes digital accessibility requirements for UK businesses and organizations. This is supplemented by the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Asia Pacific: Various countries have implemented their own accessibility standards:

• Japan: Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) X 8341 series

• South Korea: Korean Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (KWCAG)

• Australia: Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and accompanying standards

Benefits of Compliance

Making your digital products accessible brings significant advantages to your business.

• Enhance customer trust by demonstrating your commitment to all users and showing inclusivity in your business practices.

• Help build stronger, more meaningful relationships with your customers.

• Reduce the risk of legal action and avoid potential penalties and save significant resources in the long run.

• Expand your market reach and improve the overall user experience. This inclusive approach can differentiate your business as a leader in your industry and enhance your website's search engine performance.

Compliance Requirements

By June 25, 2025, all digital products and services within the EU must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The regulation applies to all EU member states and requires compliance with WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) success criteria. This unified approach ensures consistent accessibility standards across the European market.

To meet accessibility standards, your digital products must meet Level A compliance criteria at a minimum. This means ensuring all users can access your services, regardless of their abilities. In some cases, you may need to provide alternative methods of accessing content to accommodate different user needs.

Failing to meet data protection requirements puts your business at risk of substantial fines, regulatory investigations, and potential lawsuits, regardless of your company's size.

How to Ensure Compliance

The journey to accessibility compliance begins with a thorough audit of your current status.

• Take time to review your existing digital assets, identify any accessibility gaps, and document areas that need improvement.

• Updating website and app designs, modifying content for accessibility, and adding necessary accessibility features.

• Periodic accessibility checks, test your digital products with various assistive technologies, and actively seek feedback from users with disabilities.

How SEA Accessibility Helps

If you haven't installed our app yet, you can get it here.

Our app streamlines the process of achieving and maintaining accessibility compliance. We help you identify accessibility issues, track your compliance progress, and implement necessary changes. Our platform stays updated with the latest regulatory requirements, so you can focus on running your business while we help you maintain accessibility standards.