PRODUCT | Navigating digital accessibility standards in product development

The EAA, applicable since 28 June 2025, introduces EU‑wide minimum accessibility requirements for a defined range of consumer products and services. These include certain information and communication technologies (ICT) such as smartphones, computers, e‑readers, payment terminals and e‑commerce services.

A core feature of the EAA is its outcome‑focused approach. Rather than prescribing detailed technical solutions, it sets clear accessibility goals – for example, that information must be perceivable, operable, understandable and robust for users with different disabilities and functional limitations. For product teams, this places accessibility squarely in the design and development phase, rather than leaving it as a final compliance check before launch.

Although the EAA itself is principles‑based, it sits alongside a framework of harmonised European standards. Compliance with a harmonised standard referenced in the Official Journal of the EU creates a presumption of conformity with the EAA requirements it covers. In practice, this makes standards a key tool for turning high-level legal requirements into workable product decisions.

EN 301 549: the practical benchmark for ICT accessibility

The most important of these standards is EN 301 549 – Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services. It sets out detailed technical accessibility requirements and closely aligns with globally recognised benchmarks, including the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). EN 301 549 already plays a key role under the EU Web Accessibility Directive (which covers accessibility of public sector websites and mobile applications) and is now being revised specifically to support the EAA.

While the revised version of EN 301 549 - developed in support of the EAA - is expected later in 2026, several features of the revision are already clear and highly relevant for product teams:

• Broader scope: applying across a wider range of ICT products and services within the EAA's remit, beyond just public sector websites and apps.
• Closer alignment: mapping more directly onto the accessibility outcomes set out in the EAA.
• Lifecycle focus: addressing accessibility across the full product lifecycle, from user interfaces to documentation, support services and interoperability with assistive technologies.

For product developers, EN 301 549 is fast becoming the practical reference point for turning legal obligations into concrete design, engineering and testing requirements. Taken together, the EAA and EN 301 549 send some direct signals:

• Accessibility needs to be built in early - retrofitting after launch is costly and risky.
• Cross‑functional responsibility is essential, cutting across product, legal, engineering and procurement teams.
• Accessibility goes beyond the interface, extending to documentation, packaging (where relevant) and customer support.
• Standards offer a defensible way to manage risk in the absence of detailed legal requirements.

For organisations operating across multiple EU Member States, this standards‑based approach also brings a practical advantage: more consistent product design and deployment across the EU market, with less fragmentation and fewer local variations to manage.

Inaccessible design can do more than frustrate users – it can prevent people from accessing critical information, understanding warnings, or safely using products. When that happens, accessibility gaps can become foreseeable safety risks, not just usability issues. For product teams, this reinforces why accessibility should be addressed early and holistically—not only as a compliance requirement, but as part of broader product quality and risk management.

Italy: interaction between the EU EAA and the national accessibility regime

Italy transposed the EAA via Legislative Decree No. 82 of 27 May 2022 (Implementing Decree). The Implementing Decree does not, however, replace the pre-existing national framework. Instead, it operates in parallel with the long-standing Law No. 4/2004 (Stanca Law); the two instruments applying concurrently, with distinct scopes of application

Even before the June 2025 EAA transposition deadline, the Stanca Law had already undergone significant expansion. Amendments extending its application to certain large private-sector operators (specifically, undertakings with an average annual turnover exceeding EUR 500 million) took effect as early as November 2022. For those entities, the June 2025 milestone did not introduce any material new obligations, but rather confirmed and consolidated a compliance posture already required of them under the amended Stanca Law.

As of June 2025, digital services falling within the material scope of the Implementing Decree have been governed exclusively by that instrument. Services falling outside of its scope (including social media platforms in their general-purpose functionality) remain subject to the Stanca Law. For organisations operating a broad range of digital products and services in Italy, the delineation between the two regimes is not always self-evident, and a rigorous, service-by-service mapping exercise  is required to determine the applicable legal basis with confidence.

Supervisory and enforcement competence for both the Implementing Decree and the Stanca Law has been conferred upon the Agency for Digital Italy (Agenzia per l’Italia Digitale – AgID). AgID is empowered to receive complaints, carry out market surveillance activities, issue corrective orders and, in appropriate cases, direct that non-compliant services be withdrawn from the Italian market. In March 2026, AgID adopted and published Guidelines on the accessibility of services (Guidelines), which now act as the primary interpretive instrument on the application of the EAA framework  to Italian law. The Guidelines address, among the others, the material scope of the Implementing Decree, the technical and informational accessibility requirements applicable to service interfaces, and the documentation and disclosure obligations incumbent upon service providers. They further clarify how accessibility requirements operate across the full-service lifecycle, extending to customer support channels and to the digital interfaces through which services are made available to end users.

On penalties, the dual-track Implementing Decree / Stanca Law structure means dual exposure: operators subject to the Stanca Law's private-sector provisions may face fines of up to 5% of their local annual turnover; while non-compliance with the Implementing Decree may give rise to administrative penalties of up to EUR 40,000 per infringement.

United States: growing patchwork of legislation and litigation trends

Similar to the EU, digital accessibility laws in the United States reflect a strong preference for accessibility by design and are largely focused on functionality rather than narrow technical compliance. Key federal laws impacting digital products and services include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA).

The ADA is a civil rights statute that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, and facilities offered by a “place of public accommodation,” which includes retail stores, restaurants and bars, and healthcare providers, among others. As the ADA was enacted in 1990 and therefore prior to the advent of the modern internet and digital economy, federal circuit courts are split on the extent to which websites and apps are within scope of the statute. In 2024, however, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) updated its ADA rules to require websites and mobile apps that provide government services (whether designed and operated by a public or private entity) to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA. In light of this development, as well as other federal and state laws requiring government contractors to match the more rigorous accessibility obligations imposed on governmental bodies, digital service providers are increasingly finding themselves subject to the ADA.

The CVAA also plays a critical role in the digital realm, ensuring that people with disabilities can access modern communications and video products and services, specifically those that offer real-time texting, voice, and video conferencing, as well as video content and distribution platforms. While the CVAA establishes requirements for the design, functionality, and usability of such products and services, neither the statute nor the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which implements and enforces the CVAA, offer in-depth technical specifications for most of the regulated services. However, achieving WCAG compliance remains a substantial step towards compliance.

As the public's reliance on digital products and services has increased, so too have government enforcement actions and private lawsuits. The DOJ engages in both direct enforcement actions and formal “Statements of Interest” in personal and class-action lawsuits, most notably in retail/e-commerce and the healthcare industry. Although less frequent, the FCC has also engaged in high-profile enforcement actions for CVAA violations, and also serves as an intermediary for complaints from the public regarding non-compliant digital products and services. 

In practice, however, one of the most significant drivers of digital accessibility in the U.S. has been the surge of private ADA lawsuits. In 2025 alone, over 5,000 lawsuits were filed against businesses of all sizes alleging digital accessibility claims, not including the countless demand letters which are settled before ever reaching court.

In addition to federal laws, there is also a growing patchwork of state accessibility laws and regulations that come with their own obligations, enforcement mechanisms, and private rights of action.

Further action may be on the horizon. In April 2026, a bipartisan coalition in the U.S. Congress reintroduced legislation to strengthen and modernize the CVAA by improving and expanding accessibility tools for TV, video streaming, and video conferencing services. The bill would also authorize the FCC to ensure accessibility requirements keep pace with AI, virtual reality platforms, and other emerging technologies.