Accessibility law, for websites.

The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025. It sets common accessibility requirements for a list of products and services that includes e-commerce, banking, e-books, passenger transport services, phones and computers. In practice, an online shop selling to consumers in the EU is in scope unless an exemption applies.

The main exemption is for microenterprises providing services — businesses with fewer than 10 employees and an annual turnover or balance sheet of no more than 2 million euros (Article 4(5) of the Directive). Each EU country has written the Act into its own law and enforces it through national authorities, so details such as penalties vary by country.

In 2024 the US Department of Justice adopted a rule requiring state and local government websites and apps to meet WCAG 2.1 level AA. On 20 April 2026 it extended the compliance dates by a year: to 26 April 2027 for entities serving 50,000 people or more, and to 26 April 2028 for smaller entities and special districts.

The extension changes the dates, not the obligation — the Department says the existing duty to make online services accessible continues. The rule applies to public entities; it does not set a technical standard for private businesses.

These problems are common, affect many users, and are usually quick to fix.

Automated checkers find some problems quickly, but not all of them — they cannot tell whether alternative text is meaningful or whether a checkout makes sense when heard rather than seen. Combine an automated scan with a manual pass using only the keyboard, and with a screen reader on your most important journey.

WCAG, the international web accessibility standard published by the W3C, is the practical yardstick: the US rule names WCAG 2.1 AA directly, and it is what accessibility audits are measured against.