Edited by Paola Furiosi and Francesca Caliri
The European Accessibility Act (Directive (EU) 2019/882, “EAA”) aims at reducing access barriers to products and services available in the European Union market, strengthening the rights of differently-abled persons and promoting their social inclusion.
In particular, the Directive establishes new general requirements that certain categories of digital products and services must meet to ensure their accessibility. These include:
- providing clear information on how the service works, how it relates to the products used and details on accessibility and interoperability with assistive devices;
- presenting information in a way that is easily understood and perceived by users;
- use appropriate fonts and sizes, sufficient contrast and adjustable spacing to improve readability;
- if necessary, provide alternative content presentations;
- ensure that the electronic information required for the service is perceivable, manageable and understandable;
- ensure consistent and adequate accessibility of websites, online applications and mobile-based services;
The scope of the Directive is rather broad, as it covers (i) computers and mobile devices, (ii) ATMs, ticketing machines and self-service terminals, (iii) eBooks and eReaders, (iv) banking and financial services, (v) public transport services, (vi) telecommunication services, and (vii) eCommerce.
The Directive has been in force since 27 June 2019 and all Member States will have to implement the relevant obligations – transposed at national level – by June 28th, 2025.
Transposition in Italy and accessibility legislation
Italy has transposed the directive with Legislative Decree 82/2022, providing that the products and services concerned meet the accessibility requirements listed in Annexes I and II to the decree, which appear to be in line with those provided for at European level (including, for example, the fact that product information must be made available through several sensory channels, that it must be presented in a comprehensible manner, in characters of a suitable size and shape, using sufficient contrast, as well as adjustable spacing between letters, lines and paragraphs; etc.).
In general, the removal of digital barriers through a better accessibility of products and services is a topic to which Italy has devoted particular attention over the last twenty years. As early as 2004, in fact, the approval of the so-called “Legge Stanca” marked a turning point in the accessibility of public administration websites, imposing obligations on public service providers to improve generalized access to information and services.
Again, in 2020, the Agency for Digital Italy (AgID) issued the Guidelines on the accessibility of IT tools, extending some of the obligations of the Stanca Law to private entities that offer services to the public through websites or mobile applications and that have an average turnover of more than EUR 500 million in the last three years. The Guidelines were flanked by a special Regulation, aimed at regulating AgID’s verification and sanctioning procedures with respect to the public services offered by private entities.
On this point, the decree transposing the Directive has also provided for a system of supervision of the products and services placed on the European market, attributing to the Ministry of Enterprise and Industry (in the case of products) and to AgID (in the case of services) specific supervisory and sanctioning powers, in case of non-compliance with the applicable regulations.
In general, then, consumer protection is guaranteed by the provisions of the Italian Consumer Code. In fact, although the Code does not include specific provisions on the accessibility of products and services, non-compliance with these obligations could be considered an unfair commercial practice, since a consumer with a disability could base its commercial choices on information that is not fully comprehensible. In this case, where such misconduct is established, the company could be exposed to the risk of incurring the fines provided for by the Consumer Code itself, up to a maximum of EUR 10 million, depending on the gravity and duration of the violation.
Conclusions
The implementation of the European Accessibility Act in Italy represents a fundamental step toward a more inclusive society, ensuring the accessibility of products and services to an increasing number of people. Given the imminent application of the new obligations, it is a good idea for companies to implement all the necessary measures to ensure regulatory compliance, not only to avoid the risk of exposing themselves to legal challenges, but also to pursue the social equality to which EU member states aspire.
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