How do the Accessibility Directive and the Digital Services Act change online operations?
In Finland, the Act on the Provision of Digital Services, which came into force in spring 2019, obligates certain private sector operators, in addition to the public sector, to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA level accessibility. The requirements apply, for example, to operators in the water, energy, banking, postal, and transport sectors.
The requirements of the law address the technical implementation, design, and content of websites. The law has three main objectives:
To ensure content accessibility with assistive technologies (such as screen readers)
To ensure website usability, regardless of visual impairments or other barriers
To ensure content is rendered correctly across different devices.
The law not only mandates the provision of accessible services but also the preparation of an accessibility statement. The accessibility statement must describe the level of accessibility aimed for in the service and clarify if part of the service does not meet the requirements.
The implementation of the law is monitored by the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland, which has also compiled a separate guidance website on the topic. The Regional State Administrative Agency also has the authority to impose a conditional fine on any operator not complying with the law.
Accessibility benefits businesses too
Accessibility should be a part of good online service design and implementation, regardless of legal requirements. When accessibility is considered at the planning and specification stage of a new service, it may not even significantly increase costs, but instead guide designers and technical implementers towards sustainable solutions.
It is also important to understand that focusing on accessibility does not only concern, in exaggerated terms, the blind and severely disabled. Up to 20–30% of Finns suffer from some accessibility-restricting issue, and the ageing population will only increase this group. Accessibility is therefore becoming a genuinely profitable business aspect.
Accessibility promotes equality and improves customer experience. Ideally, it also saves costs, and as a positive side effect, it often improves search engine visibility as well.
The law and standards only cover good accessibility to some extent. They do not address, for example, the comprehensibility of the service structure or the usability of navigation. It is advisable to consider good accessibility in the implementation of digital services comprehensively, as part of user-centric design.
We have compiled a small downloadable guide for you on what website maintainers should consider in light of the Accessibility Directive and the new law.
Accessibility and user-centric design are part of every project for us. So if you need more help with user-centric design that considers accessibility, get in touch.
Crasman Ltd
9 Oct 2019
