{"id":6844,"date":"2025-05-20T08:28:07","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T08:28:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediahouse.ee\/2025\/05\/20\/the-european-accessibility-act-to-whom-and-what-to-implement-by-28-june-2025\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T07:48:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T07:48:48","slug":"the-european-accessibility-act-to-whom-and-what-to-implement-by-28-june-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediahouse.ee\/en\/2025\/05\/20\/the-european-accessibility-act-to-whom-and-what-to-implement-by-28-june-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"The European Accessibility Act, who and what needs to implement it by 28 June 2025?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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28 June 2025: new EU accessibility requirement will make the web, bank branches and ticket machines accessible for all<\/h3>\n\"\"\n

Already in 2019, the European Parliament and the Council approved Directive 2019\/882, known as the European Accessibility Act. The aim of the document is to remove barriers around digital services and consumer electronics and harmonise rules across the Union. The deadline for implementation is 28 June 2025, just over a month away. <\/p>\n\n

Who has to comply<\/h4>\n

The Directive explicitly lists categories of products and services. Products include consumer computer hardware with operating systems, payment and ticket machines, information and check-in kiosks, ATMs, e-readers and consumer communication and audiovisual equipment. On the services side, the focus will be on electronic communications (including 112 emergency calls), streaming platforms with electronic schedulers, air and rail ticketing and information channels, consumer banking, e-books and all forms of e-commerce. <\/p>\n\n

What needs to change in products and services<\/h4>\n

Annex I requires that information must be accessible through multiple senses, the user interface must work with a keyboard and screen reader and must not rely solely on colour or sound, i.e. the idea of the Directive is that the user interface must be usable without a mouse\/touch screen (i.e. using only a keyboard or keypad) and understandable to a screen reader. Also, important information must not be conveyed only by colour (e.g. “the error message is just a red frame”) or only by sound (e.g. “just a beep if the operation failed”); there must always be a textual or tactile alternative that can be perceived by the visually or hearing impaired user. <\/p>\n\n

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Web and mobile apps must be perceivable, usable, understandable and reliable. Communication services must provide real-time text and, where appropriate, synchronous text, audio and video, while streaming platforms must provide subtitles, sign language and audio description without degradation or delay. Passenger transport services must ensure that tickets, real-time information and terminals are accessible to all passengers, i.e. the aim is that a passenger with visual, hearing or mobility impairments can buy a ticket, view information and use a terminal without assistance – as easily as other passengers. <\/p>\n

Banking and shopping platforms must be fully usable even when the user cannot use a mouse or sound, meaning that every action from logging in to confirming a payment must be done using only the keyboard and in a form that is understandable to the screen reader, without the user having to hear sound cues or click on buttons with the mouse.<\/p>\n\n

Deadlines and exceptions<\/h4>\n