Public sector websites accessible by 2015?!
Fri, 07/12/2012
Political initiatives at European level such as the ‘Digital Agenda For Europe’ and the ‘Europe 2020’ strategy, aim to enhance digital literacy, skills and inclusion. On 3 December 2012, the European Commission adopted in this line Action 64 of the Digital Agenda for Europe a proposal for a ‘Directive on the accessibility of the public sector bodies' websites’.
The directive aims to make sure that public sector websites (and websites providing basic services to citizens; in total for 12 types of websites) ) are fully accessible by 2015. The proposed new rules would also clarify what web accessibility means (technical specs, methodology for assessment, reporting, bottom up testing), and governments would be encouraged to apply the rules across all services, not only the mandatory list. In advance, numerous direct and public consultations as well as studies were carried out to identify problems and needs, addressing Member States, industry and civil-society.
Internet is becoming a major channel for the provision of information and services, and websites without accessibility features are posing barriers for people with disabilities and elderly citizens. About 15% of the EU population needs improved web-accessibility and the number may increase significantly as the Union population ages. The hindrance to fully access public and other websites leads to social and exclusion and has a negative economic impact.
Key beneficiaries of the proposal would be Europe's 80 million citizens with disabilities and the 87 million Europeans aged over 65. For example, visually impaired people will hear descriptions of images when using a screen reader, the hearing-impaired will see written captions for audio files and all parts of a website could be explored via ckeyboards as well as a computer mouse.
Even if many national authorities in Europe are committed to the accessibility of public websites and most Member States have introduced guidelines or regulation based on WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0), the actual accessibility however is still low. In 2011, the report from the "Monitoring eAccessibility in Europe" (MeAC) study estimates that only one third of the content generated by public authorities across the EU is accessible. The study also reveals a fragmented and slow adoption of WCAG 2.0 across the EU.
With Action 64, the Commission is now engaging with governments, the industry and organisations including the European Disability Forum to support Member States to achieve their national commitments regarding web-accessibility as well as their commitment to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities regarding websites of public sector bodies (Article 9).
The coverage of the EU proposal is nevertheless limited to website-based online services provided by public sector bodies such as:
- Job search services by labour offices
- Social-security benefits: unemployment benefits, child allowances, medical costs (reimbursement or direct settlement), student grants.
- Enrolment in higher education or university
- Health-related services: interactive advice on the availability of services, online services for patients, appointments.
- Request and delivery of personal documents and certificates
incluD-ed welcomes the Directive on the accessibility of the public sector bodies' websites’, yet during the legislative process there might be developed much more websites that are related to the educational sector and that are not covered within the directive. The proposed Directive now goes to the EU's Council of Ministers and the European Parliament for adoption.
In general, most Member States have already either enacted legislation, or taken other measures on web-accessibility. However, significant differences exist between these laws and measures. The number of websites providing e-government services (about 380.500 in EU) and public sector websites (over 761.000 in EU) is growing steadily.
The proposal is in synergy with the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which is currently in preparation and addresses accessibility of goods and services including ICT. Furthermore, the Commission's eGovernment Action Plan 2011-2015 that calls for the development of services designed around user needs and ensuring inclusiveness and accessibility. Many other political initiatives at European level such as the European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 (ICT accessibility) and Digital Agenda For Europe relate to web-accessibility.
