digital access for everyone
Guide to the EAA (European Accessibility Act):
(updated: September 2025)
The EAA (European Accessibility Act) aims to improve access to digital & online content for people with disabilities.
27% of people in Europe are routinely excluded from digital content not because they have a disability, but because of poor product design & code. This is especially true for websites & apps.
Firms that ignore the EAA are now subject to legal penalties; both financial & custodial (explained below).
Since 28th June 2025, the EAA legally requires businesses to have digital accessibility standards in place for digital products that includes:
Websites
Mobile Apps
Telecoms devices
E-readers
Financial ATM’s
Point-of-sale devices & self-service shop checkouts
Information kiosks / boards
Electronic ticketing & check-in terminals
Who is affected by the EAA:
Firms with 10 or more employees, operating in the following sectors* of the European market:
E-commerce.
Banking & Credit Unions.
Telecoms.
Transport (air, bus, rail & waterborne passenger transport services).
Technology products designated by EN 301 549 (computers, software products, mobile phones, e-readers, ticketing & check-in machines, point-of-sale devices, ATM’s, information kiosks).
*sectors mentioned also include firms that are not based in Europe, but who have dealings with Europe (e.g. air transport firms that are registered outside of the EU, but who fly into the EU).
The UK, within its own borders, is not affected by the EAA, per se. However, UK based firms that provide their products or services to the EU, are required to comply with the EAA. The same applies to firms based in the United States that provide products or services to the EU.
Penalties for non-compliance with the EAA:
While the EAA itself is the same across Europe, the penalties for non-compliance are decided and enforced by each individual EU member state.
Penalties are also to be accompanied by effective remedial action where non-compliance is established. If no remedial actions are implemented, then the ability to trade might be questioned.
In Ireland, firms who are subject to the EAA & are not digitally accessible after 28th June 2025, risk the following penalties for non-compliance:
On summary conviction, a class A fine of €5,000 and/or imprisonment up to 6 months.
On indictment, fines up to €60,000 and/or imprisonment up to 18 months (applicable to Directors, Managers, Secretaries and other Officers).
Assigned compliance authorities are empowered to direct businesses to comply with requirements. The EAA Regulations appear to also allow for private individuals, with the option to be supported by interest groups, to enact court proceedings directly.
Other important laws within Ireland, such as the Disability Act (2005) & the Equal Status Acts (2000-2018), potentially may also have a bearing on litigation relating to digital accessibility.
Exemptions from the EAA:
The EAA does not apply to these companies:
Firms with less than 10 employees & with annual turnover not exceeding 2 million Euro.
With digital content, legal proof is required for it to be considered exempt from the EAA. This applies to the following digital content:
Pre-recorded time-based media published only before 28th June 2025.
Office file formats (e.g. PDF documents) published only before 28th June 2025.
Online maps & services, if essential information is provided in an accessible digital manner for maps intended for navigational use.
Third party content that is neither funded by, developed by, or under the control of the economic operator concerned. For example, this exemption does not apply to firms that pay for overlay (widget) software that claim to make websites accessible.
Content of Websites & Mobile Apps qualifying as archive material only, meaning that they only contain content that is not updated or edited after 28th June 2025. This means digital content is only exempt from the EAA if all content remains completely unchanged; i.e. there is no single edit of any content made after 28th June 2025.
Standards required to achieve EAA compliance:
Digital products in general, are checked for accessibility using the European Standard referred to as EN 301 549 “Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services”.
Websites & Mobile Apps are further checked for accessibility by the EAA using WCAG 2.1 AA (double A) criteria. This is a global standard used to determine if website / mobile app content is accessible or not.
Firms must also publish a formal Accessibility Statement indicating how they currently meet the Act’s requirements at the time of publication.
It is very important to understand that an Accessibility Statement on its own, without full implementation of required changes, is not enough to prevent EAA penalties.
The same can be said about commonly used 3rd party Overlay products that claim to fix all accessibility issues on a website; legal precedents have proven that Overlay products do not address accessibility issues sufficiently, nor do they protect from litigation.
One other important point to note is that firms are themselves fully responsible for the accessibility of any 3rd party products they pay for, develop, or control.
Unsure if your digital content is compliant?
There are a number of options to help determine compliance with the upcoming EAA Regulations.
To learn about the services I offer, please go to my Services page.
Implementing digital accessibility is more of a marathon than a quick-fix, so it's better to evaluate your current status as soon as possible & if necessary, start remediation prior to 28th June 2025.
For expert consultation & compliance evaluation, contact me today.
Please note: this article is provided for information purposes only & does not constitute legal advice.
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