Accessibility means empowering everyone to act independently as part of society. In e-commerce, this implies that each of us should be able to purchase travel tickets, electricity contracts, or even trainers without needing someone else's help. An online retailer benefits from accessibility by reaching a wider range of customers. At the same time, the overall user experience is improved for everyone.

It is essential to understand that up to 15% of the world's population suffers from some issue that limits accessibility, such as motor impairments or cognitive disorders. The ageing population will further increase this group (WHO). Accessibility also holds business significance.

Anyone can temporarily face accessibility limitations – bright daylight, background noise, intense emotional states, medication, or even a broken arm can significantly reduce our ability to use online services.

The terms accessibility and inclusivity are often used together in this text and can easily be confused. In this context, accessibility can be regarded as an overarching term that includes inclusivity. Accessibility may also refer to, for example, physical environments and buildings.

Inclusivity, in this context, refers to the "intangible" environment, such as online services.

Why now?

The law on digital service provision, which came into force in Finland in 2019, obliges certain private sector operators in addition to the public sector to comply with WCAG 2.1. AA level accessibility. The requirements apply to sectors such as water, energy, banking, postal, and transport.

The current change relates to the EU Accessibility Directive, which mandates that certain products and services be made accessible by authorities and the private sector. This directive will be implemented in Finland through a new act on accessibility requirements for certain products and amendments to the digital services act, the law on electronic communications services, the law on transport services, the market surveillance act, and the law on emergency centre operations.

The laws came into force on 1 February 2023, but their application will mostly begin on 28 June 2025*.

The new legislation extends the already familiar accessibility requirements to cover the majority of online shops.

Micro-enterprises are exempt from the law's supervision. This refers to companies with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet total of no more than 2 million euros*.

The legislation primarily applies to consumer-facing e-commerce, meaning B2B-commerce is not under supervision. However, if a B2B commerce is also accessible to individual consumers, the digital services act's accessibility requirements might apply.

Accessibility should be part of the good design and execution of an online service regardless of legislation. Indeed, accessibility is often a component of corporate responsibility strategies.

How to get started? 

Recognising the status and needs of your own online services is crucial to start now. The task may initially seem daunting, and postponement might be tempting.

However, the work can begin with relatively small steps. A carefully planned and phased process enables smooth progress according to schedule and budget.

Initial actions

1. Identify the legal obligations affecting your online service. 

2. Document any known accessibility deficiencies.

3. Add a minimum version accessibility statement to your site, indicating that you are aware of the legal requirements and identified deficiencies on the site. Record the planned actions and their timeline as well.

4. Provide users of online services with a feedback channel through which they can report any deficiencies in your online service (an email address or a simple form suffices for this purpose).
   
   
   

Next steps

1. Audit your online service's accessibility and update the findings in the accessibility statement.

2. Prioritise and commence corrective actions.

3. Continually update the accessibility statement as work progresses.

4. Make maintaining accessibility a regular practice.

5. Invest in quality assurance and periodically conducted recurring audits. A good tool for ongoing accessibility maintenance can be a monitoring tool, such as Accessibility Keeper.

The law's supervision begins in June 2025 – it's high time to act! Get in touch with us, and we will help you evaluate your online service's accessibility and, if necessary, make your service accessible.

*) The directive allows some transition periods, for example, regarding emergency messaging, self-service terminals, and products intended for providing services or contracts made before 28 June 2025. See Accessibility Directive – Ministry of Social Affairs and Health