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Relevance of the WCAG for your company
Information about WCAG 2.2
WCAG stands for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and contains guidelines for the accessibility of content on the internet. WCAG has set the standard for web content accessibility legislation in most countries around the world.
The WCAG were created by the World Wide Web Consortium, known as W3C, to address the accessibility of websites. The W3C was founded in October 1994 at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science (MIT/LCS). Founding members include several top scientists and at the end of 2019, the organization had over 440 members, including leaders from business, non-profit organizations, universities and various government agencies.
Originally, W3C focused on the standardization of web protocols so that websites and web tools are compatible with each other. Each W3C standard is reviewed, tested and analyzed several times before it is approved by the members.
Internet accessibility was an early topic addressed by the W3C. The first version of the WCAG was published in 1999. It was revised in 2018, resulting in the WCAG 2.1 guideline that we know today.
Principles of the WCAG
The complete WCAG is incredibly long and complex and contains many different points and requirements for the operator of a website. However, the basic principle of all the points elaborated is based on 4 essential principles: perceivable, operable, understandable and robust.
Here are the details:
Guidelines as a standard for laws
Accessibility laws
The WCAG is not a law, but many governments have adopted the guidelines as a standard for their accessibility laws. Here is a brief overview of accessibility laws in the European Union:
In 2010, EU officials adopted WCAG 2.0 Level AA as mandatory for all official EU sites and extended this to all public sector web platforms. In 2018, the WCAG 2.1 criteria were included. The EU also adopted WCAG as the standard for the new European Accessibility Act (EAA), which will come into force in 2025 in addition to the current rules.
Ignoring WCAG carries legal risks, as it forms the backbone of accessibility legislation in most countries around the world and is considered the most reliable and effective set of accessibility standards in the world.
Who is affected by the law?
According to the BGG, all federal public bodies are obliged to make the following areas accessible in the digital domain:
Websites (including intranets and extranets), apps and electronic administrative processes (see Section 12a (1) BGG).
The obligation for barrier-free design also applies to other content that is integrated into the website, such as PDF files, videos and graphics.
The overall scope of the accessible design is based on the possible technical standards. For federal authorities, these result from the Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance 2.0 (BITV 2.0). The updated BITV 2.0 refers to the harmonized standards published in the Official Journal of the European Union. This is currently EN 301 549 V.2.1.2 (2018-08), which in turn refers to the WCAG. The requirement to make websites accessible according to the “state of the art” means that what is technically possible must also be done. For example, the ISO standard 14289-1:2012-07 for the accessible design of PDF files (PDF/UA standard) is likely to be state of the art, although this standard is not part of EN 301 549 V.2.1.2 (2018-08).
An accessibility statement must also be integrated into the website. This must state which parts or content of the website or app are not (yet) fully accessible and why. If available, a reference to accessible content alternatives must be provided. The declaration must be accessible from the homepage and every page of a website. In the case of mobile applications, publication at the location where the application can be downloaded or on the website of the relevant public body is sufficient.
The website or app must provide the opportunity to provide feedback in order to report (in particular) existing barriers to the website operator. The operator must respond to the feedback within one month. The feedback mechanism must be integrated into the website/app in addition to the accessibility statement. In the case of websites, the feedback mechanism – as well as the accessibility statement – should be accessible from every page of a website; in the case of apps, integration in the navigation is sufficient.
As the option to provide feedback is an interactive process, a higher level of accessibility must be achieved for it (see Section 3 (4)). This should correspond to level AAA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. Background: The EN 301 549 V2.1.2 (2018-08) standard currently prescribed for accessible design refers to the success criteria of level AA of WCAG 2.1 for the accessible design of the web, but only lists the success criteria of level AAA in the appendix for information purposes, i.e. without obligation.
Who does the law affect beyond local authorities?
The EU Directive has significantly broadened the circle of obligated public bodies compared to the previous Disability Equality Act (BGG). According to the EU Directive, all bodies that are obliged to comply with EU regulations on the award of public contracts are also obliged to ensure the accessibility of websites and mobile applications. The federal legislator has implemented this for federal public bodies in Section 12 sentence 1 numbers 2 and 3 BGG.
Project sponsors and other funding recipients are therefore obliged to provide digital accessibility if they fall under Section 12 sentence 1 numbers 2 or 3 BGG. One of the requirements stated there is funding of more than 50 percent by the federal government (see Section 12 sentence 1 numbers 2 and 3, letter a) in each case). Grants – whether institutional or project-related – constitute federal funding.
Accessibility for digital products and services
Information about EAA/EN301549
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a regulation that was adopted by the EU in April 2019 and prescribes accessibility for digital products and services.
EN 301549 is a document created by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). EN 301549 defines official web accessibility standards.
When did EAA and EN 301549 come into force?
The regulation of web accessibility was a lengthy process that began in the 2000s. Since then, EU authorities have taken into account the needs of citizens with disabilities in their policy decisions.
The important milestones on the way to web accessibility were as follows:
In 2006, the Riga Declaration was issued, which set full Internet accessibility as a goal for the coming years.
In 2010, the European Disability Strategy was adopted to harmonize the accessibility requirements for disabled citizens in all EU member states.
In 2015, the first version of EN 301549 was published by ETSI, in which the accessibility standards for the private sector were defined.
In 2016, the Web Accessibility Directive required all public services to make their websites and associated mobile applications accessible to users with disabilities.
The latest version of EN 301549 was published in 2018 based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These defined accessibility standards were enshrined in law with the adoption of the EAA in 2019.
The EAA gives private companies five years to comply with the accessibility requirements. These five years end on June 28, 2025.
What are the EAA’s requirements?
The EAA does not define any country-specific accessibility standards or compliance requirements but, as usual, leaves the detailed elaboration to the sovereignty of the individual member countries. However, the EAA defines usability requirements that are based on WCAG 2.1, such as that no website or digital service may be limited to a single interaction mode. For example, audio content must also be accessible via captions and written text must also be accessible via a screen reader.
Who must comply with the EAA?
The EAA is not designed as a blanket law that affects everyone. The products and services covered by the new law include, for example:
- Computers and operating systems
- Telephone services and related equipment
- Audiovisual media services, such as television broadcasts and related consumer devices
- Services in connection with air, bus, rail and other passenger transportation
- Banking services
- eBooks
- eCommerce
Although the regulation is originally aimed at public and government groups, it also indirectly affects private companies. Companies that provide services to government bodies in Europe must ensure that their accessibility standards meet the requirements of the law. The EAA also requires that all online services provided by companies are accessible to people with disabilities.
The EU directive defines transition periods and additional requirements: Accordingly, newly created websites had to be accessible by September 2019, while existing websites must be accessible by September 2020. Mobile applications have an extended deadline until June 2021. In addition, the operator of the website must publish an accessibility statement and offer a feedback option for users.
Act on Equality for People with Disabilities
German legislation
The regulations on how website accessibility must be implemented in Germany are set out in the Disability Equality Act and the Accessible Information Technology Ordinance.
The Federal Disability Equality Act (BGG) obliges federal authorities to make their websites accessible. With the amendment of the BGG in 2016, regulations for an accessible intranet were added. In July 2018, it was adapted in line with EU Directive 2102. The following important changes came into force:
Scope of application extended to federal public bodies (Section 12 BGG)
- Deletion of the undefined “gradual” implementation – the requirements now apply directly
- Regulation on the accessibility of electronically supported administrative processes from 2021
- Exemption in the event of a disproportionate burden
- Obligation to prepare an accessibility statement with feedback mechanism
- Establishment of a federal monitoring body for accessibility of information technology in the form of a separate, independent department of the German Pension Insurance Knappschaft-Bahn-See (§ 13 BGG)
- Enforcement proceedings are handled by an arbitration body, which since 2016 has been the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities
The requirements that apply are defined in the Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance (BITV). The BITV 2.0 is based on the requirements of EN 301 549, which refers to the WCAG.
State laws on accessible information technology in accordance with EU Directive 2102
For public bodies of federal states and municipalities, accessibility on the Internet is regulated by state laws and state-specific ordinances:
- Baden-Württemberg: State Disability Equality Act – L-BGG and L-BGG Implementation Ordinance, Monitoring Center for Media Accessibility Baden-Württemberg at the German Pension Insurance Baden-Württemberg
- Bavaria: Bavarian Disability Equality Act – BayBGG and Bavarian Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance – BayBITV, monitoring body at the State Office for Digitization, Broadband and Surveying
- Berlin: Barrierefreie-IKT-Gesetz Berlin – BIKTG Bln, monitoring body at the Senate Department for the Interior and Sport
- Brandenburg: Brandenburg Disability Equality Act – BbgBGG, Brandenburg Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance – BbgBITV, monitoring body at the State Office for Social Affairs and Care
- Bremen: Bremisches Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz – BremBGG, monitoring body is the Central Office for Barrier-free Information Technology
- Hamburg: Hamburg Act on the Equality of Disabled Persons – HmbGGbM, Hamburg Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance – HmbBITVO, monitoring body at the Office for IT and Digitization (ITD) of the Senate Chancellery
- Hesse: Hessian Disability Equality Act – HessBGG, Hessian Ordinance on Barrier-free Information Technology – BITV HE 2019, monitoring body for barrier-free IT at the Giessen Regional Council
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: State Disability Equality Act – LBGG M-V, Barrier-free Websites Ordinance Mecklenburg-Vorpommern – BWebVO M-V, Monitoring Body Ministry for Social Affairs, Integration and Equality
- Lower Saxony: Lower Saxony Disability Equality Act (Niedersächsisches Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz -NBGG), monitoring body at the Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Equality
- North Rhine-Westphalia: Behindertengleichstellungsgesetz Nordrhein-Westfalen – BGG NRW and Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung Nordrhein-Westfalen – BITVNRW, monitoring body at the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia
- Rhineland-Palatinate: State law on the equality of disabled people – LGGBehM, Barrier-free Information Technology Ordinance Rhineland-Palatinate – BITV RP
- Saarland: Saarland Disability Equality Act – SBGG, Saarland Disability Equality Ordinance – SBGVO
- Saxony: Saxon Inclusion Act and Accessible Websites Act, monitoring body at the German Center for Accessible Reading (read dzb)
- Saxony-Anhalt: Disability Equality Act Saxony-Anhalt – BGG LSA, State Center for Accessibility at the Saxony-Anhalt Accident Insurance Fund
- Schleswig-Holstein: Act on Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Schleswig-Holstein (Landesbehindertengleichstellungsgesetz – LBGG), State Ordinance on Barrier-free Access to Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Authorities – BFWebV SH
- Thuringia: Thuringian law on barrier-free access to the websites and mobile applications of public bodies – ThürBarrWebG, Central Monitoring Office for Digital Accessibility at the Thuringian Ministry of Finance