In this article I would like to present some basic information about national, federal and international web accessibility laws and their impact on the daily practice of web design, development and usage.
In the last section I would like to focus on Austria, as this is my home country and I would like to point out what to look for when working with accessibility in the development process based on Austrian standards.
Table of contents
- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Civil Right Laws
- Procurement Laws
- Technology and Domain-Specific Laws
- Specific law in my home country: Austria
I will divide the laws presented into three categories:
- Civil Right Laws
- Procurement Laws
- Technology and Domain-Specific Laws
But before I go into detail, I would like to mention two important laws that have been critical to accessibility in general.
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Concerning the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights points out in the introduction that
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, it set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
The document is considered the first to establish basic human rights. It is considered the foundation of international human rights law, as numerous international treaties, constitutions, and other laws have elaborated on the rights contained in the document, particularly accessibility laws.
2. UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in a digital aspect
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) of the United Nations (UN) is the most important political and democratic manifestation of the will to grant and guarantee equal human rights to people with disabilities worldwide.
It promotes and monitors national legislation, administration, and implementation and provision of accessibility, assistive technology, and universal design as important elements and means to ensure equal human rights for persons with disabilities.
3. Civil Right Laws
Civil Laws are laws that emphasize equal rights for people with disabilities and often prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities under certain conditions. Examples may include employment, access to buildings, or "public accommodations" such as restaurants, shopping, entertainment venues, etc.
3.1 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
The ADA is a comprehensive civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in a variety of areas, including employment, public buildings, transportation, and more. Although the ADA does not specifically address web accessibility, many of the lawsuits in the United States invoke the ADA as the basis for the lawsuit because it speaks of public accommodations.
4. Procurement Laws
These laws require that accessibility be considered when purchasing or contracting for services. Thus, a law might require that if several products are available, and two of them meet accessibility standards, only those may be considered for purchase.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and EN 301 549 are two examples of procurement laws that focus on accessibility but so far apply only to government entities.
4.1 Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires the U.S. federal government (and businesses, nonprofit organizations, and many others that work with the federal government) to consider accessibility when procuring information technologies: Web sites, telephones, copiers, computers, and other technologies, including hardware and software. WCAG A & AA guidelines have been included since 2017 and are required by Section 508.
4.2 EN 301 549: "Accessibility requirements suitable for public procurement of ICT products and services in Europe"
The European Union has decided to create a set of standards for ICT (Information and Communication Technology) procurement legislation, similar to Section 508. Currently, EN 301 549 is not legislated anywhere, but it is expected that European countries will incorporate these standards into their own legislation. The parts of EN 301 549 that deal with the Internet relate to WCAG AA. Several European countries already have their own Internet accessibility laws.
5. Technology and Domain-Specific Laws
Information technology law provides legal principles and regulations for the dissemination, collection and storage of electronic information. There are a number of laws that focus on different aspects of the technology. Some examples would be data protection and privacy, hardware and software, telecommunications, and the Internet.
With respect to technology and accessibility, there are several laws around the world that focus on technology accessibility requirements, particularly regarding the Internet.
In the United States, there are two interesting laws that I would like to mention:
1. The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) requires that "advanced communications services and products" be accessible to people with disabilities, including video communications, text messaging, web browsers on mobile devices, and other similar technologies. This means that all video programs shown on television with captions must also be shown on the Internet with closed captions.
2. The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) of 1986 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in air transportation and requires air carriers to accommodate the needs of passengers with disabilities.
U.S. and foreign air carriers that operate flights within or to the U.S. or sell tickets to the U.S. public must ensure that the publicly accessible content of websites they own or control complies with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AA.
In Europe, to name a few, government websites in Germany must comply with the Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung (BITV 2.0), which is based on a modified version of WCAG, and both Italy (Law 4/2004 "Stanca" Law) and Spain (Law 34/2002, Law 51/2003) have their own laws that government websites must comply with, based on WCAG 1.0 AA.
6.Specific law in my home country: Austria
In my home state, the law is called the Bundesgesetz über den barrierefreien Zugang zu Websites und mobilen Anwendungen des Bundes (Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz – WZG) for government and public accommodations, and is effective from its publication for websites not published at that time from September 23, 2019, for websites already published at that time from September 23, 2020, and for mobile applications from June 23, 2021, to give companies time to adapt the code. The law is consistent with conformance level AA of the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines - WCAG 2.1."
In addition, any company (with websites in English and German throughout Europe) has the opportunity to be verified for a Web Accessibility Certificate from WACA (Web Accessibility Certificate Austria). The certificate recognizes accessibility efforts and guarantees compliance with legal requirements WCAG 2.1 - AA.
Something I find very interesting is a list, compiled by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)of the frequently failed accessibility criteria.
- WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content
- WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
- WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
- WCAG 4.1.1 Parsing
- WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
- WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled
- WCAG 3.1.2 Language of Parts
I think these are points to put my focus on when so many companies, designers, developers and testers are having comprehension and implementation problems with these points. Help is definitely needed here.
6.1 What about your country?
Many other countries have their own web accessibility guidelines, often based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The WAI has published a list of some international guidelines at http://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/.
In order to develop websites according to legal standards, it is important to know the laws of your own country, or the country where the company is located.
Thanks for your reading and time. I really appreciate it!
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