Digital Accessibility: Are You Ready?

Digital accessibility means access for all to information society services, including those with disabilities. The concept had first appeared in French law with Law No. 2005‑102 of 11 February 2005 on equal opportunities, but the obligation of accessibility only applied to the public websites. 

 Directive (EU) 2019/882 of 17 April 2019 on accessibility requirements opened the scope of this obligation to a large number of products and services intended for consumers. Transposed in France in 2023 (Law No. 2023‑171 of 9 March 2023, Decree No. 2023‑931 and Order of 9 October 2023), it is now codified in Art. L. 412‑13 and D. 412‑49 et seq. of the Consumer Code, the provisions of which are mandatory for products placed on the market and services provided as of June 28, 2025. Small companies (less than 10 people and a turnover of less than €2 million) or operators for whom the burden would be "disproportionate" according to the criteria defined by the texts are excluded.

 The products and services concerned are listed in Art. D. 412‑49 and D. 412‑50 of the Consumer Code. The text targets, unsurprisingly, financial services, electronic communications, audiovisual, and transport. But above all, it includes "e‑commerce", i.e. strictly everything that is available online to a consumer in the European Union, only sites providing services exclusively dedicated to professionals seem not to be affected by these obligations.

In practical terms, the obligations to be complied with by the economic operators concerned are onerous. They involve, in addition to the compliance itself, in accordance with the provisions of the Decree of 9 October 2023, the production of important documentation and regular audits. In the event of non‑compliance, the applicable penalties are those provided for in the Consumer Code (Art. L.521‑1, Art. R. 451‑1).

 For existing services the dead line for complying is June 28, 2030, but the text of the transitional provision (Law No. 2023‑171 of March 9, 2023 Art. 16.VIII.C) is not the clearest: "Service providers may, until June 28, 2030, continue to provide their services using products that they were legally using to provide similar services before that date ». In other words, as soon as the services in question are not strictly "similar", they would immediately have to comply with the legal obligations of digital accessibility. But what does "similar service" mean? similar in content? in its category? How will this notion be interpreted by the many bodies responsible for monitoring the application of the texts? Despite this delay, prudence dictates that all the operators concerned are now concerned about their compliance with digital accessibility because it is almost certain that in the next five years, they will provide services that will not be "similar" to those they currently provide...

 In practical terms, the obligations to be complied with by the economic operators concerned are onerous. They involve, in addition to the compliance itself, in accordance with the provisions of the Decree of 9 October 2023, the production of important documentation and regular audits. In the event of non‑compliance, the applicable penalties are those provided for in the Consumer Code (Art. L.521‑1, Art. R. 451‑1).

 For existing services the dead line for complying is June 28, 2030, but the text of the transitional provision (Law No. 2023‑171 of March 9, 2023 Art. 16.VIII.C) is not the clearest: "Service providers may, until June 28, 2030, continue to provide their services using products that they were legally using to provide similar services before that date ». In other words, as soon as the services in question are not strictly "similar", they would immediately have to comply with the legal obligations of digital accessibility. But what does "similar service" mean? similar in content? in its category? How will this notion be interpreted by the many bodies responsible for monitoring the application of the texts? Despite this delay, prudence dictates that all the operators concerned are now concerned about their compliance with digital accessibility because it is almost certain that in the next five years, they will provide services that will not be "similar" to those they currently provide...