Making government websites accessible for all

Over 100 million EU citizens would find it easier to use online public services to look for a job, register a car, submit a tax declaration and apply for a passport or driving license thanks to new rules proposed by the European Commission on 4 December, the International Day of People with Disability.

The Commission’s proposal for a Directive on the accessibility of public sector bodies’ websites would introduce mandatory EU standardised accessibility features, from the end of 2015, for 12 types of websites (see below). Mandatory accessibility would apply to essential government services like social security and health related services, job searches, university applications and issuing of personal documents and certificates (see below for full list) The proposed new rules would also clarify what web accessibility means (technical specs, methodology for assessment, reporting, bottom up testing), and governments would be encouraged to apply the rules across all services, not only the mandatory list.

Key beneficiaries of today’s proposal would be Europe’s 80 million citizens with disabilities and the 87 million Europeans aged over 65. For example, visually impaired people will hear descriptions of images when using a screen reader, the hearing-impaired will see written captions for audio files and all parts of a website could be explored via keyboards as well as a computer mouse.

Upon implementation, the Commission proposal would unlock a worth European web accessibility market an estimated EUR 2 billion, a market which is currently reaching only 10% of its potential. Innovations triggered by the proposal will also improve the internet experience of all internet users through greater functionality and lower costs in providing that functionality.

A single set of accessibility rules would mean developers could offer their products and services across the whole EU without extra adaptation costs and complications.

The proposed Directive now goes to the EU’s Council of Ministers and the European Parliament for adoption.

Member States would have to put national rules and regulations in place by 30 June 2014. 21 Member States already have national laws or measures on web accessibility but progress is slow.

With today’s proposal, the Commission says it has delivered on Action 64 of the Digital Agenda for Europe and on Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

Websites falling under the jurisdiction of the proposed EU Directive on accessibility of public sector bodies’ websites

1. Income taxes: declaration, notification of assessment
2. Job search services by labour offices
3. Social-security benefits: unemployment benefits, child allowances, medical costs (reimbursement or direct settlement), student grants.
4. Personal documents: passports or driving license
5. Car registration
6. Application for building permission
7. Declaration to police, e.g. in case of theft
8. Public libraries, e.g. catalogues and search tools
9. Request and delivery of birth or marriage certificates
10. Enrolment in higher education or university
11. Notification of change of residence
12. Health-related services: interactive advice on the availability of services, online services for patients, appointments.

Background

The current situation for public sector web accessibility is dire. Only one third of Europe’s 761,000 public sector and government websites are fully accessible, despite the availability of technical solutions, some of which have been developed with EU research funding over the last 15 years.

Web-accessibility refers to principles and techniques to be followed when constructing websites so that online content is accessible to all users, in particular those with disabilities (1). There are internationally recognised and technology-neutral guidelines in this field: the Success Criteria and Conformance Requirements Level AA in version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). A European standard that includes web accessibility based on those guidelines is under development within the “European Commission Mandate 376” and could be available as early as 2014.

Examples of EU-funded research include the WAI-Age project, looked into the specific needs of ageing users and fed into the review of WCAG 2.0.

The Commission will engage with governments, the industry and organisations including the European Disability Forum to make the most of existing national commitments and expenditures for web accessibility of public websites and speed up the adoption and implementation of these essential rules.

Further information:

Accessibility of public sector websites

Notes

(1) According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Source: European Commission