New rules mandatory from 28 June for ATM, e-commerce, public services and companies: penalties of up to 5% of the turnover for those who do not adapt. A market of 500 billion dollars involved.
From the ATMs of the ATM To the metro ticket distributors, from e-commerce sites to consulting an online report, to booking a holiday hotel. It will change everything. He will have to change everything. On June 28, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force,), The European Union Directive that requires the adoption of common standards to guarantee accessibility to digital products and services also for people with visual, motor, auditory or cognitive disabilities.
European Accessibility Act sanctions: who must respect the new rules and what are the penalties
In Italy 13 million people live with a disability, in Europe 80 million, 1 billion in the world. The goal is to break down the barriers that still make access to daily tools complicated today for these millions of people. A change that will have direct repercussions on the world of companies that will have to redesign technologies, platforms and interfaces to really be accessible. The Eaa path began with the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities (2010) and on June 28 the directive enters into force. Italy has set the maximum term for the adaptation of non -compliant products and services already on the market to 2030. All companies with more than 10 employees and over 2 million euros in turnover are obliged to comply with the new rules. Micro -enterprises are excluded, but an accompanying path is also planned for them. The penalties envisaged in the event of non -compliance range from 5 thousand to 40 thousand euros for non -compliant products or services, up to 30 thousand euros for non -collaboration in the checks and up to up to 5% of the turnover for companies with revenues exceeding 500 million
The services that will have to become accessible: from ATM to e-commerce apps
What will be the concrete applications? Among the services that will have to be accessible are the ATMs and self-service terminals; automatic ticket offices in stations and airports; the websites and apps of the public administration and private companies; e-commerce, including payment forms; banking platforms and eBook readers and emergency services; hardware and operating systems intended for the public. Each device must be designed to be accessible to people with visual, motor, auditory or cognitive disabilities. A ATM, for example, will have to provide voice controls, touches recognizable to the touch, high contrast screen and accessible position also for people in a wheelchair. For e-commerce this means guaranteeing keyboard navigation without the use of the mouse; Compatibility with Screen Reader; alternative texts for images; Video with subtitles or Lis translations and clear and easily correct payment form.
Digital accessibility: a question of 500 billion dollars
Today over a billion people in the world live with some form of disability. Still, 98% of websites are still inaccessible. The economic impact of this exclusion is relevant: 500 billion dollars of potential annual expenditure not intercepted in the world, with two thirds of the online transactions abandoned for obstacles to accessibility. According to an accesway survey, leader in Europe in digital accessibility, the most late sectors in Italy are the public administration, e-commerce fashion sector and large-scale distribution (large-scale distribution). In the PA the major difficulties are linked to the presence of notable portals, non -accessible PDF contained, confused interfaces and lack of tools for real -time assistance. E-commerce often, especially in the fashion sector, offers content made of images, without alternative descriptions and complex navigations that can only be done with the keyboard. The large -scale distribution is struggling to make apps, digital flyers, login areas and payment systems accessible. And all this brings over 73% of people with disabilities to abandon online transactions. The effect? Frustration for people and direct losses for companies.
