We now encounter accessibility measures in many areas of our lives, whether it be ramps next to stairs, guide strips, or traffic lights, whose colors always have the same arrangement and sometimes emit an acoustic or tactile signal. Such measures are still relatively rare online.
In an increasingly digitalized world, accessibility is also crucial in areas such as websites, terminals, and apps. It enables everyone to participate more easily in digital life.
An important step in this direction is the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (BFSG) (Accessibility Enhancement Act), which will come into force in Germany on June 28, 2025. This law implements the “Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the accessibility requirements for products and services and amending other acts” and sets clear requirements for the accessibility of products and services.
The BFSG now applies to the private sector and requires manufacturers, distributors, and importers of certain products specified in the law, as well as service providers, to ensure accessibility. This includes products such as computers, notebooks, smartphones, mobile phones, check-in machines, ticket machines, ATMs, routers, and e-readers that come onto the market after June 28, 2025. In terms of services, the BFSG covers messenger services, telecommunications services, banking services, interregional passenger transport services, and e-commerce services, which broadly speaking means all interactions that lead to a consumer contract and are offered electronically. This last area will further increase accessibility on the internet in the future, as many providers, such as online shops and registration processes, fall under this law and must now take appropriate measures.
Regulations have been in place for public authorities in Germany for some time. In addition to various state laws, there is the Federal Disability Equality Act (BGG). In the area of accessible information technology, which had to be implemented by June 2021, this law stipulates that websites and mobile applications of public authorities must be accessible. As a result, public authorities have been dealing with this issue and the regulations for several years, finding solutions, implementing them, and reviewing them to enable people to participate digitally. We have followed this development in various projects of the IT system house of the Federal Employment Agency and are constantly working to meet the requirements. This has enabled us to gain knowledge in the field of accessibility and practical experience, especially in testing.
The harmonized European standard EN 301 549 entitled Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services is an important document for the application of both the BGG and the BFSG. The BGG refers to BITV 2.0, which in turn refers to the aforementioned standard. Section 4 of the BFSG refers to European harmonized standards whose implementation is deemed to fulfill the provisions of the law. EN 301 549 lists the requirements for fulfilling the principles of accessibility: perceptibility, operability, comprehensibility, and robustness in information and communication technology. First, functional requirements for various limitations are listed (Chapter 4). Chapters 5 to 13 then contain applicable, specific requirements that must be observed, sorted by function or product characteristics.
With regard to web applications, the EN 301 549 standard refers extensively to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (currently version 2.1, but version 2.2 has been available since December 2024 and it is assumed that this reference will also be revised accordingly). This international guideline from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) provides guidance on restrictions due to blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hearing loss, limited mobility, speech impairments, photosensitivity and combinations of these disabilities, as well as some learning disabilities and cognitive impairments, through measures that can be taken during development to make the web more accessible. In addition, the WCAG provides a rating scale for the accessibility of websites through its conformance levels from A (lowest level, contains the most important criteria) to AA (this standard should be met) to AAA (highest level, all success criteria are met).
But it's not just because it's now legally required that it makes sense to remove barriers.
At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that accessibility enables all people to participate more easily in digital life.
In case you missed it, yes, accessibility is indeed a relief for everyone. Some people notice it immediately and find it essential to actually be able to use the services offered, while for others it may be more indirect and incidental.
The likelihood that people with disabilities will visit your website is quite high: between the approximately 7.9 million people with severe disabilities (2023) and the approximately 8% of men and 0.4% of women who have at least a mild form of color blindness, there are many forms and degrees of disabilities and limitations. Not to mention that with age, the ability to comprehend complex information, distinguish colors, or hear properly generally declines. For this group, it is sometimes essential, sometimes simply very helpful and much more pleasant to use websites that are (more) accessible.
Accessibility, or rather the measures taken to achieve it, can also score points from other perspectives. Websites that are robust are more stable and load faster, which is a great help for poor internet connections. Online presences that are well structured, use high contrasts, and have descriptive text for images, for example, are easier for everyone to understand and process, which increases usability. But it's not just people who benefit—search engines and AI are also better at figuring out what's what and returning the right info when they're looking at well-structured content.
Parts of the requirements review can also be automated in the area of accessibility and carried out with the help of tools. However, as things stand at present, exploratory and manual testing still needs to be carried out by people in order to identify and remedy difficulties, for example in handling.
As is so often the case, the same applies to accessibility: It is important to consider it and include it in the requirements. Correct requirements should be defined for the product or website at an early stage and tested appropriately as the process progresses.
Speaking of processes: it is also important to consider accessibility in processes. According to the BFSG, the “state of the art” must be taken into account. Existing regulations and standards are also likely to evolve, become more specific, and be refined and adapted. Designing and establishing processes that recognize these changes and allow them to be incorporated into the development process at an early stage can save stress, time, and money.
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