Reinier advises national and international companies
reinier.russell@russell.nl +31 20 301 55 55On 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act will come into force. From that data, digital products and services must also be accessible to people with disabilities. Which companies, products and services does the Act apply to? What disabilities should you take into account? What are the consequences of not complying with the Act?
By 28 June 2025, no digital products and services may be offered that are not accessible to persons with disabilities. For them, an alternative must always be available depending on the disability, also taking due account of privacy. This is regulated by the European Accessibility Act. This new legislation is in line with consumer protection by the EU, which also includes, for example, the European Product Safety Regulation, which came into force on 13 December 2024.
Whereas previous accessibility legislation only applied to governments, the new law also applies to commercial companies. However, there is an important exception to this: companies with fewer than 10 employees or less than € 2 million in turnover do not have to comply with the legislation. Also, the law does not apply to business-to-business (B2B) services.
The law applies to all products and services provided in the EU. It therefore also applies to non-EU products and services imported here.
The EU regulation includes a comprehensive list of accessibility requirements that enable people with disabilities to use digital products and services. In addition, the regulation lists the disabilities that all products and services must take into account.
Note that access to devices intended for use by the public in a public place is also covered by this directive. However, this will often already be regulated under other directives. But consider, for example, access to PIN, cash and ticket machines for wheelchair users.
You do not have to comply with the law if it results in a fundamental change to your product or service or if it involves a disproportionate burden. What is meant by this?
A fundamental change means that you are in effect going to offer a different product or service to meet accessibility requirements. This is not likely to be the case any time soon. If it does, you still need to ensure that your product is accessible to as many people as possible.
A disproportionate burden means that the costs you have to incur to make the product accessible are disproportionate to the benefit people with disabilities receive as a result. Even in this case, the product should still be as accessible as possible. And of course, you can no longer invoke this than if you have received money to make your product or service accessible to people with disabilities.
If you fail to comply, you can receive a fifth-category administrative fine. This is an amount of up to € 103,000 as of 1 January 2024. The amount can be adjusted annually.
The law is subject to transitional law until 27 June 2030. Until that date, services may be provided using products whose use is lawful before 28 June 2030. For example, consider a TV subscription provided via a modem that was installed before 28 June 2025 or a telephone subscription that includes the phone itself. Service contracts continue until their expiry date, but no later than 27 June 2030. If you do not require special products to provide your service (for example, in the case of websites and online shops), no transitional law applies and you must therefore comply with the law by 28 June 2025.
For self-service terminals, they may be used until end-of-life, but for a maximum of 20 years after 27 June 2025. However, software updates will have to take accessibility requirements into account as much as possible. If the hardware makes it impossible to fully meet the legal requirements, it does not have to be replaced.
Do you want to know whether the law applies to your business, products and services? Has a fine been imposed on you? We are happy to assist you. You can also call on us for other retail and IT/ICT questions and disputes. Please contact us:
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