European accessibility act
Last week I had a chat with the (excellent) team at Vially about the European accessibility act that came into affect yesterday – Many SME’s and Solopreneurs were very worried about it.
Many of my clients are exempt as they are Microenterprises – So don’t panic if you’re one of these – however, Accessibility is a very important issue with approx 20% of potential customers likely to have diverging accessibility requirements in Ireland. We’ll be working with them over the coming months to do our utmost to increase the accessibility of their websites.
Some info below and a link to the full act information:
Microenterprise Exemption:
Businesses meeting the criteria of having fewer than 10 employees and a turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million are considered microenterprises and are exempt from the EAA’s requirements for services.
Products vs. Services:
The exemption for microenterprises applies primarily to services. If a microenterprise manufactures or sells physical goods that fall under the EAA, they may still need to comply with the product-related requirements
The European accessibility act covers products and services that have been identified as being most important for persons with disabilities while being most likely to have diverging accessibility requirements across EU countries.
The Commission consulted stakeholders and experts on accessibility and took into account the obligations deriving from the UN convention on persons with disabilities.
These products and services include:
- Computers and operating systems
- ATMs, ticketing and check-in machines
- Smartphones
- TV equipment related to digital television services
- Telephony services and related equipment
- Access to audio-visual media services such as television broadcast and related consumer equipment
- Services related to air, bus, rail and waterborne passenger transport
- Banking services
- e-books
- e-commerce