Directive (EU) 2019/882 [1] introduces new accessibility requirements for products and services. With a few exceptions, these must be implemented from June 28 of this year. As the legislation is a directive, the requirements have been transposed into national law by all EU member states. In Germany, the requirements are enshrined in the Barrier-Free Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG). In addition to services, these are also aimed directly at the design of products. Article 2, paragraph 1 lists the product categories that must meet the accessibility requirements in Annex I.
These include a) "hardware systems and [...] certain operating systems for general-purpose computers for consumers", which refers to laptops, tablets and operating systems such as Windows or Mac OS X. In addition, "e-book readers" are listed under e). Here, not only must the hardware be accessible, but the software for operation must also offer barrier-free access options. This includes the requirement that information for using the device must be provided via more than one sensory channel.
Examples of multiple sensory channels would be a visual channel that includes the display on the screen, while an auditory channel provides the information via a voice output.
While the product categories in Article 2, paragraph 1 a) and e) are quite clearly formulated, the wording of Article 2, paragraph 1 c) and d) is rather vague:
(c) "consumer terminal equipment with interactive features used for electronic communications services"
(d) "consumer terminal equipment with interactive features used for access to audiovisual media services"
Article 3, No. 7 only defines the term from (d) as "equipment whose main purpose is to provide access to audiovisual media services". This includes, for example, smart TVs or devices such as the Fire TV Stick from Amazon.
But which devices fall under the definition in c)?
Although "electronic communications services" - e.g. telephony and internet - are defined in Directive (EU) 2018/1972, it remains unclear what is meant by the term "consumer terminal equipment providing interactive services".
It is clear that telephones and smartphones clearly fall under this category. The question is whether devices such as headsets or web cameras are also meant. The first impulse to answer the question with "no" falters when we look at the motivation (30) of the directive:
"This Directive should also cover consumer terminal equipment with interactive capabilities which is foreseeable to be used primarily for access to electronic communications services. These [...] should [...] include equipment used as part of the configuration for accessing electronic communications services, such as routers or modems." So if a router falls within the scope of Article 2(1)(c), why not headsets? A monitor, headset, keyboard and mouse are essential for a stationary computer to ensure access to electronic communications services.
According to Article 1, the purpose of the Directive is to "remove conditional obstacles to the free movement of products and services [...] or to prevent the creation of such obstacles." According to the BFSG, the purpose of the law is “[...] to ensure the accessibility of products and services in accordance with the following provisions. This strengthens the right of people with disabilities to participate in society [...].” The question therefore arises as to whether headsets, Bluetooth speakers and IoT devices also fall within the scope of this directive based on this purpose.
Even if the operation of Bluetooth headsets, web cameras or keyboards is already designed to be accessible and the requirements from Annex I, Section I are fulfilled, the requirements from Annex I, Section II for the packaging and instructions of the product remain.
This includes the fact that "the product packaging with the corresponding information [...] must already be accessible". Operating instructions for such products should also be accessible via more than one sensory channel.
The EU's official final report on the "Introduction to European Accessibility Legislation" [2] states that "digital technologies [are at the heart of this directive]". The products listed as examples in the report do not include keyboards, mice or headsets, but do include smartphones, tablets, computers, TVs and even e-books, as well as cash and ticket machines. It can therefore be assumed that headsets, web cameras and keyboards are not the direct target of this regulation. According to the report, this is to "make Europe an inclusive society by improving access to products and services for people with disabilities".
In addition to products, the directive also regulates access to services, including Article 2, paragraph (2) f) "e-commerce services", which refers to online stores, for example. This probably affects significantly more companies than was assumed in advance.
Even if the wording of Article 2 (1) c) may give rise to uncertainty, the accessibility requirements are clearly communicated. For example, Annex II also contains a list of "examples of general accessibility requirements for all products covered by this Directive in accordance with Article 2(1)", which supplement Annex I.
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Author's note
This article has been machine translated into English.
DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS
Directive (EU) 2018/1972 on a European Electronic Communications Code, adopted by the European Union in December 2018, sets out common EU rules and objectives for the regulation of the telecommunications sector and defines how providers of networks and/or services can be regulated by national authorities.
