The EAA is coming: are you ready or at risk?

We are now less than a month away from the European Accessibility Act (EAA) coming into effect. The EAA is an EU Directive which aims to ensure products and services are accessible to people with disabilities across the European Union. It sets out accessibility requirements for platforms such as websites, mobile apps, e-commerce, banking services and more. 

While some businesses have been preparing for the deadline for some time, others have yet to begin. Any business delivering products or services into the EU market should be aware of the requirements set out in the Directive, if they are not already.

Compliance with the EAA will be subject to strict regulation. With the increasing use of AI to monitor compliance—such as through web traffic analysis—businesses should not ignore their obligations. Enforcement of the EAA should be anticipated, and adopting a proactive approach is the most prudent course of action.

Typically, if a regulator identifies non-compliance, they are more likely to refrain from enforcement measures where a business demonstrates cooperation and clear efforts to rectify the issues. Conversely, if a business within scope fails to comply and does not engage or attempt remediation, regulators have a range of enforcement tools at their disposal, as prescribed under local laws.

Although the EAA is a Directive aiming to harmonise accessibility requirements across the EU, enforcement approaches may vary by jurisdiction. All national measures, however, must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive.” For example, Ireland has introduced penalties for non-compliance that include fines of up to €60,000 and potential criminal sanctions. Other jurisdictions may adopt a GDPR-style approach, imposing fines based on a percentage of a business’s annual global turnover. Understanding how it applies in different jurisdictions is not always straightforward and specialist advice is crucial.

It is essential that businesses assess which jurisdictions they are operating in and, as far as possible, understand the specific risks associated with non-compliance. This awareness alone should be enough to motivate any business within scope to take immediate, proactive steps toward compliance.

Although the precise enforcement landscape remains to be seen, that clarity is imminent. Don’t let your business become the cautionary tale. With regulators’ growing capacity to monitor compliance, now is not the time to delay.