From Alignment to Autonomy: Digital Accessibility in the EU and the UK Post-Brexit

Digital accessibility refers to the design, development and provision of digital products and services in a way that ensures they can be used by everyone, including people with disabilities, health conditions and impairments. This includes individuals with visual, auditory, motor, speech, or cognitive impairments. Whether driven by statute and regulation, public expectation, or a company’s commitment to inclusion, the aim is to provide equal, non-discriminatory access to technology across all user needs and abilities. For businesses, digital accessibility should be seen as far more than a box-ticking exercise.  In economic terms, the “purple pound” represents a significant market, comprising an estimated 16 million people with disabilities in the UK and over 100 million in EU Member States.

Approaches to digital accessibility in law differ around the world. In 2009, the UK ratified the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which recognises the right of individuals with disabilities to access digital content and services. However, the rights contained within the UN Convention remain non-justiciable in the UK. The EU has also established a formal legal framework governing accessibility requirements in this space – including the Web Accessibility Directive (WAD), the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AMSD), and, most notably, Directive (EU) 2019/882 – commonly referred to as the European Accessibility Act (the EAA) — to establish concrete obligations for accessibility across digital platforms and services.

The UK, on the other hand, has retained some EU-derived accessibility laws following Brexit in specific contexts (such as the WAD, which requires public sector bodies to make their websites and apps accessible in accordance with specific standards) but has not adopted the EAA. The EAA does not apply in the UK though it governs the provision of in-scope products and services to consumers in the EU. While English, Welsh and Scots law contain accessibility-related obligations under the Equality Act 2010 (for Northern Ireland, see the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) and various sector-specific regulations, it has not implemented a regime equivalent to the EAA.  This raises important questions about potential regulatory divergence, the accessibility landscape for UK consumers, and the implications for businesses operating across the markets of Great Britain,  Northern Ireland and the EU.

The EAA generally applies to contracts for in-scope services entered into on or after 28 June 2025, and to in-scope products placed on the market after 28 June 2025, subject to transitional periods applied at the local Member State level.

The EAA introduces a harmonised framework aimed at improving the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and others with functional limitations. Its objectives are to promote social inclusion, remove barriers to participation, and enable greater independence through both physical and digital accessibility.

Importantly, the EAA marks a shift from fragmented national approaches to a more unified set of rules across the EU.

Who does the EAA protect?

The EAA generally applies to contracts for in-scope services entered into on or after 28 June 2025, and to in-scope products placed on the market after 28 June 2025, subject to transitional periods applied at the local Member State level.

The EAA introduces a harmonised framework aimed at improving the accessibility of products and services for persons with disabilities and others with functional limitations. Its objectives are to promote social inclusion, remove barriers to participation, and enable greater independence through both physical and digital accessibility.

Importantly, the EAA marks a shift from fragmented national approaches to a more unified set of rules across the EU.

What products and services come within the scope of the EAA?

The EAA applies to a variety of products and services including, but not limited to consumer-facing hardware (such as smartphones, computers, ticket machines, e-readers, e-books and dedicated software, and TV equipment), electronic communication services, consumer banking services, e-commerce services, elements of consumer transport services and audiovisual media services. The specific in-scope products and services are set out in Article 2, and defined in Article 3. 

Who must comply with the EAA?

The EAA places obligations on those who place products on the market by first making a product available in the EU market.  In particular, obligations are placed on the “manufacturer” “authorised representative”, “importer” “distributor” and “economic operator” that are each defined under Article 3.

As such, the EAA places obligations on UK businesses supplying in-scope products and services in the EU.  This is not limited to manufacturers, but also applies to others within the supply chain, such as distributors.

What are the accessibility requirements?

Article 4 of the EAA sets out the general “accessibility requirements” for products and services, by reference to specific requirements detailed in its Annex I. It sets out accessibility requirements that will apply across the lifecycle of relevant products and services, pre and post-market.  All products brought to market before 28 June 2025 must be compliant by 28 June 2030.

The EAA’s key requirement is that all in-scope products and services placed on the EU market meet the accessibility standards set out in various parts of Annex I, subject to limited transitional periods and exceptions.  For products, this generally means ensuring that user interfaces, instructions, and information are accessible to individuals with diverse needs—such as offering alternatives to visual or auditory elements, enabling text enlargement, or ensuring colour is not the sole means of conveying information.  While the EAA does not mandate specific technical solutions, it provides non-binding examples in Annex II to guide implementation in practice.

In-scope services must also comply with accessibility requirements, particularly regarding how information is provided and how users interact with service-related tools or devices.  For example, providers of audiovisual media services must ensure features like subtitles and audio descriptions are available, high-quality, and user-controllable.  Importantly, products used to deliver services must themselves comply with product accessibility rules, ensuring an end-to-end accessible experience for consumers.

Rather than prescribing specific technical standards, the EAA is outcome-focused—it outlines accessibility standards that products and services must meet, while allowing flexibility in how those outcomes are achieved.

What happens when a breach of the EAA is identified?

Article 19 of the EAA requires market surveillance authorities in EU Member States to ensure compliance.  If the authority has sufficient reason to believe that a product does not comply, it should evaluate it.  Article 20(1) also requires operators to "fully cooperate” with the authority for that purpose.  If a market surveillance authority finds that a product does not comply with the EAA they “shall without delay require the relevant economic operator to take all appropriate corrective action to bring the product into compliance with those requirements within a reasonable period” (Article 20(1)).  If the operator fails to comply, the market surveillance authority “shall require the relevant economic operator to withdraw the product from the market”.  Where non-compliance is identified, Article 20(2) requires national market surveillance authorities to inform the EU Commission and other EU Member States.  If an operator persists, access to the relevant market may be withdrawn.  Similar provisions are made in relation to checking the compliance of services with EAA requirements, under Article 23 of the EAA.  Member States must establish procedures to check that services are compliant, follow up complaints, and ensure that corrective actions are taken. 

Article 29 of the EAA states that EU Member States must ensure that there are adequate and effective means to ensure compliance.  This includes: “(a) provisions whereby a consumer may take action under national law before the courts or before the competent administrative bodies to ensure that the national provisions transposing this Directive are complied with” and “(b) provisions whereby public bodies or private associations, organisations or other legal entities which have a legitimate interest, in ensuring that this Directive is complied with, may engage under national law before the courts or before the competent administrative bodies either on behalf or in support of the complainant, with his or her approval, in any judicial or administrative procedure provided for the enforcement of obligations” under the EAA.

Under Article 30, penalties for infringement are to be determined at the State Level and must be “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” and are to be “accompanied by effective remedial action in case of non-compliance of the economic operator”. As a result, non-compliance could lead to significant fines, reputational damage, and restrictions on access to the EU market.

For UK businesses subject to an investigation by an EU Member State’s market authority, it will be important to seek suitably qualified advice, cooperate with the relevant authority, and seek to mitigate the potential reputational and financial consequences that could flow from being denied access to potentially the entire EU Market and/or a significant penalty.  Pre-emptive actions and familiarising business with the new requirements should be considered essential.

It will also be important to ensure that any member state specific requirements are met.  National transposition measures are available on the EU website.

Ensuring that the law keeps pace with technological change and increased societal awareness remains a persistent challenge.  Whilst there are an estimated 16 million disabled people in the UK, compliance with accessibility requirements for people with disabilities remains patchy.  For example, the Government’s guidance on Understanding accessibility requirements for Public Sector Bodies, last updated on 30 September 2024, concluded that “most public sector websites and mobile apps do not currently meet accessibility requirements.” In 2016 the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities found that “grave or systematic violations” of disabled persons’ rights had taken place in the UK.

The Regulatory Framework

The UK has a statutory system of accessibility regulation which has evolved over time, as opposed to being codified in one overarching Act.  The starting point for the legal framework for product accessibility in the UK is the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 (CSDA).  Section 22 places obligations on the Secretary of State to report annually on the work carried out “in relation to equipment that might increase the range of activities and independence or well-being of disabled persons, and in particular such equipment that might improve the indoor and outdoor mobility of such persons.”

The Equality Act 2010

The next step in England, Wales, and Scotland is Part 3 of the Equality Act 2010 (Equality Act) which deals with discrimination in the provision of goods and services (s.29).  This prohibits direct and indirect discrimination by a “service provider” against customers on the grounds of disability and applies to all products and services, including those in the technology, media, and telecommunications sector.

Disability is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act and is defined as a physical or mental impairment, that has a substantial and long term (meaning more than 12 months) adverse effect on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities (s.6(1)).  Certain conditions are also deemed disabilities, such as cancer and MS.  

Direct discrimination occurs when a service provider treats a disabled customer less favourably, than it treats or would treat others in materially the same circumstances, because of the protected characteristic of disability (s.13 and s.29).  If direct discrimination on the grounds of disability is made out, it cannot be justified.

In the case of indirect discrimination, the test is whether a service provider applies a provision, criterion or practice (“PCP”) which places customers with a disability at a particular disadvantage compared to people without that disability (s.19 and s.29)) and it cannot show that the PCP is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim (known as the defence of objective justification).  Thus the key difference between direct and indirect discrimination is that a service provider can potentially justify indirect discrimination if the PCP applied is objectively justified.

Additional protections also apply under the Equality Act in relation to disability.  A service provider must not discriminate against a disabled customer because of something arising as a consequence of their disability where the service provider cannot show that the treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim (s.15(1) and s.29).

Service providers are also under a duty to make reasonable adjustments if a PCP applied by the service provider places customers with a disability at a disadvantage.  In that case the service provider must take reasonable steps to help avoid the disadvantage. (s.29(7)). 

What is required to satisfy the duty to make reasonable adjustments?

This duty means that service providers must provide services fairly and without discrimination, which includes the duty to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled persons who wish to access a particular service (s.29(7)).  This is an anticipatory duty which applies regardless of whether a service provider is aware that it has disabled customers.  This means that service providers must proactively consider whether the way in which they have designed their products or services could put someone with a range of disabilities at a disadvantage. However, a disabled person must be personally affected in order for an actionable claim to arise.

The duty to make reasonable adjustments applies in the following ways:

• First, where a provision, criterion or practice puts disabled persons generally at a substantial disadvantage in relation to a relevant matter in comparison with persons who are not disabled, the service provider must take such steps as it is reasonable to take to avoid the disadvantage.
• Second, where a physical feature puts disabled persons generally at a substantial disadvantage when compared with persons who are not disabled, the service provider must take such steps as it is reasonable to avoid the disadvantage or to adopt a reasonable alternative method of providing the service.
• Third, the service provider must take reasonable steps to provide an auxiliary aid without which disabled persons would generally be put at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with non-disabled persons.

Whilst the UK does not (at the date of writing) have an EAA-equivalent legislative framework specifically designed to address accessibility in the digital products and services sector, the Equality Act provides a widely applicable duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments.

The Accessibility Regulations

In addition to the Equality Act, the relevant UK legal framework includes the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Accessibility (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2022 (which amend the Accessibility Regulations 2018).  These regulations specify that service providers must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidance (WCAG). In order to be compliant, websites and mobile applications must be “perceivable, operable, understandable and robust”:

• To be “perceivable”, information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive, e.g. by providing text alternatives, audio descriptions and otherwise adaptable content to persons who might suffer visual or audio impairment.
• User interface components and navigation must be “operable”, e.g., by being easily navigable, accessible through various inputs including keyboard, providing users enough time to read and use content, being designed in a manner that does not cause seizures or physically harmful reactions.
• Information and the operation of the user interface must be “understandable”, e.g., by providing readable text, predictable appearance of web pages, and helping users avoid and correct mistakes.
• Content must be “robust” enough that it can be interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

The Accessibility Regulations also require public service bodies to provide an accessibility statement for their website or mobile applications.  This must include an explanation of inaccessible content and any accessible alternatives, as well as a link to notify of non-compliance and to the Enforcement Regulations.  This statement must also be updated annually.

Public sector bodies exemptions

It is important to note that some organisations are exempt from the accessibility regulations.  The Accessibility Regulations 2018 do not apply to websites or mobile applications of:

(a) public service broadcasters and their subsidiaries;

(b) non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as charities, unless they provide services that are essential to the public or specifically address the needs of persons with disabilities; and

(c) schools or nurseries, except for the content of their websites or mobile applications relating to essential online administrative functions (reg. 4).

Some types of content are also exempt under the Regulations including live video; third-party content not under the control of the public sector body; and contents of intranets and extranets published before 23 September 2019.

Regulation 7 further provides that a public sector body is not required to comply with the accessibility requirement “if doing so would impose a disproportionate burden”.  An assessment must be undertaken by the body of the extent to which compliance with the accessibility requirement imposes a disproportionate burden.  To assess such a burden, a public sector body must take account of relevant circumstances, including its size, resources and nature; and the estimated costs and benefits for the public sector body in relation to the estimated benefits for persons with disabilities.  In other words, it should conduct a risk assessment.  For example, a smaller organisation, such as a parish or council, that is run on a largely voluntary basis, might evaluate the costs and benefits and consider that full compliance with the accessibility requirement would impose a disproportionate burden.

Following the assessment, if the public sector body determines that compliance with the accessibility requirement would be a disproportionate burden, it “must explain in its accessibility statement the parts of the accessibility requirement that could not be complied with” and, where appropriate, provide accessible alternatives to documents held by that body that are not digitally available (reg. 7(4)).

Enforcement of accessibility rules in England and Wales

A failure by a public sector body to comply with the accessibility requirement is to be treated as a failure to make a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (reg. 12).  A breach of this duty opens the door to enforcement action and damages.  In England, the relevant enforcement authority for the public sector Is the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and in Northern Ireland, it is the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

In addition, the Government Digital Service (GDS) monitors public sector bodies’ compliance by examining a sample of public sector websites and mobile apps every year.  It can ask for information and request access to intranets, extranets, apps or any public sector website, and investigate complaints about mobile apps used by the public sector to ensure equal access to services.

If organisations are in breach of the accessibility requirements or fail to provide a satisfactory response to a request to produce information in an accessible format, i.e., fail to make reasonable adjustments and are therefore in breach of the Equality Act  and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, the EHRC and ECNI can use their powers to investigate, provide notice to, and take court action against such bodies. In England and Wales, where a service provider does anything constituting discrimination, including failure to make reasonable adjustments, it will be exposed to claims from disabled customers presented in the County Court (ss. 20-21 Equality Act 2010).

As to the issue of divergence between enforcement in the UK and the EU, the Equality Act 2010 does not impose prescriptive requirements on companies in the same way that the EAA does.  However, in practice the standards may be very similar.  For example, by identifying the product features and service features that must be accessible for persons with disabilities, the requirement to make “reasonable adjustments” under the Equality Act 2010 is wide enough and may, in effect, mandate compliance with the same standards as the EAA.  Although this may ultimately be a question for the courts.

For business and public bodies it seems reasonable to assume that a good starting point for compliance with legal requirements in the EU as well as the UK is the WCAG, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and containing guidelines on international standards for websites, that aim to create a uniform and harmonised approach to accessibility.  The WCAG include criteria that form the basis of the European standard EN 301 549, referred to in the WAD 2016 as “harmonised standards and a common methodology to test the conformity of content on websites and mobile applications” against principles of accessibility.  The  EAA refers to the same standards as relevant for compliance.

It is perhaps important to note that though the WCAG is referred to in the Accessibility Regulations 2018, it does not appear (at the time of writing) to have been applied by any courts in the UK in the context of the Equality Act 2010 and does not automatically equate to compliance with the requirements contained therein.  In any case, given the international acceptance of the WCAG, it is generally accepted that it is good practice for companies and organisations seeking to comply with European and UK standards to fall within the guidelines.

In any event, given that the EAA applies to any company offering products and services to EU customers, UK companies in EU markets must comply with the EAA provisions applicable to their products and services placed on the market on or after 28 June 2025.  Though there do not appear (at the time of writing) to be any substantive legislative changes on the horizon regarding accessibility in the UK, companies would be well-placed to be driven by compliance with developing international accessibility standards.