Checklist: Does your company need to communicate accessibly?

Many companies use telemedia services, banking services or e-commerce services in their digital communication with consumers. This makes them so-called service providers according to the new Accessibility Reinforcement Act. Around 190,000 companies in Germany must therefore make apps, online stores, online contract documents and websites accessible by the deadline of June 28, 2025.

Quick check: Are you a service provider?

Companies that are not micro-enterprises with a turnover of less than €2 million or fewer than ten employees are subject to new obligations under the new law. They must make their apps, online stores, contract documents or websites accessible to consumers by the deadline in June 2025. This applies as soon as they offer at least one of the following services in their communication with consumers.

Apps/online store:

• Can consumers rate products or take part in competitions?
• Can consumers buy products or services via the online store?

If the app or online store is integrated into the website, both the app or store and the entire website must be designed to be accessible. However, if the website only links to a separate app or a separate online store, i.e. if these are not directly linked to the website, only the app or the online store must be designed to be accessible.

Website:

• Can consumers book appointments via the website?
• Can consumers log into a customer area on the site to access their order history, for example?
• Can consumers open a support ticket via a help desk system if they have questions or complaints?
• Can consumers get in touch via a contact form, a chatbot or a callback service?

The basic requirements of the BFSG

The Accessibility Reinforcement Act requires that certain products and services as well as apps, online stores, websites, e-books and digital documents can be found, accessed and used by people with disabilities without any particular difficulty and in principle without assistance. To this end, these digital offerings must be made accessible via more than just one sensory channel.

For example, it is no longer enough to present the products and services to be purchased in text and images in an online store. In future, texts and alternative image descriptions that explain the image content must also be audible via voice output. This makes the content audibly accessible. Anyone who also uses video and audio content must also display the content in text form as subtitles or transcripts. For people with motor disabilities who have difficulty using a mouse, all functions of apps, websites, online stores or platforms must also be operable via buttons.

How many consumers benefit from digital accessibility?

Everyone can benefit from more digital accessibility. After all, we already have motor disabilities when we are holding a child in our arms. Anyone who has misplaced their glasses or can no longer see everything on the screen when the sun is shining will notice a visual impairment. Hearing impairment can be caused by ambient noise. We are cognitively impaired if we have slept badly or are trying to multitask. These situational disabilities are varied and they happen to everyone.

There are also other temporary impairments: for example, an arm in plaster. Perhaps an eye is injured or we have a middle ear infection. A sudden hearing loss, migraine or fatigue can prevent us from using online stores and websites.

The number of people who have to contend with situational and temporary disabilities is difficult to record statistically. And the number of people who are permanently affected is also much higher than you might think:

• Around 10.4 million people in Germany live with a permanent disability, 7.8 million with a severe disability and 2.6 million with a mild disability.
• And in an ageing population, the proportion of people with disabilities is increasing. Today, 18.6 million people are over 65 years old - and the trend is rising.
• In addition, 12.3 million people living in Germany do not speak German as their mother tongue.
• In addition, there are 6.2 million people who cannot read and write or can only do so inadequately.
• An estimated 2.5 million people suffering from symptoms of Long Covid have been added to the list.

This adds up to 50 million people. It cannot be ruled out that some people belong to more than one category. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that statistically one in two of the 82.7 million people in Germany would benefit from more digital accessibility.

How do companies benefit?

Admittedly, many companies currently have other things to worry about than yet another complex and not always logical compliance regulation. Unfortunately, however, nothing happens when digital accessibility is voluntary. Companies have to be forced to be happy:

• This is because digital accessibility leads to a permanently increased market volume overall, as more people participate in the market.
• Digital accessibility also has other economic dimensions. This is because companies strengthen their competitiveness through an improved customer experience.
• If you offer content in different content formats, you can also reach people with your messages in different situations. This means that we can communicate even better.
• A company's affirmative stance on human rights and sustainability also makes it a much more attractive employer for skilled workers.
• And there is another piece of good news: when it comes to implementing accessibility, many processes can be automated - or at least partially automated - with the help of artificial intelligence.

The question of whether a company falls under the BFSG in purely legal terms is therefore not the only decisive factor - but whether the important target group of people with permanent, temporary or even situational disabilities should continue to be excluded as customers. With their existing resources and supported by artificial intelligence, companies can not only enable people with disabilities to lead a more self-determined life - they can also strengthen their own competitiveness through an improved user experience and gain entirely new customers.

What does the entry into force of the FSIA mean for Switzerland?

The Accessibility Reinforcement Act (BFSG) affects both public bodies and private companies. As many Swiss companies offer their products and services in Germany and other EU countries, they are also affected by the provisions of the BFSG and comparable laws in the EU.

This primarily affects public bodies such as authorities, municipalities and state institutions, which are obliged to make their digital offerings - including websites, mobile applications and other online services - accessible. However, private companies are also affected: If they offer products or services to the general public, they must comply with accessibility requirements. This includes online stores, banks, insurance companies, transport companies and telecommunications providers that make their services available via e-commerce.

Smaller companies with fewer than 50 employees and non-digital products and services are exempt from these regulations. Nevertheless, it makes sense for companies to consider accessibility as part of their responsibility for greater inclusion and equal opportunities.

Furthermore, the BFSG is not limited to websites. Mobile apps, software, e-books and other digital products also fall under the regulations. The specific requirements that must be met depend on the type of offering and the respective target group. (red)

Source: www.sitewerk.ch

Laws on digital accessibility

• The European Accessibility Act is being implemented in Germany as the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz - BFSG for short. The BFSG is mandatory for companies, associations and clubs when communicating with consumers from 28.06.2025.
• Public broadcasters have been obliged by the Interstate Media Treaty to gradually offer accessible content since June 2022.
• And public institutions, such as local authorities, health insurance companies, universities of applied sciences and universities, were already obliged to provide greater digital accessibility under EU Directive 2016/2102. And this has been the case since September 2018.
• The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) aims to enable people with disabilities to participate equally in all areas of life. The convention came into force in Germany in March 2009.
• The Disability Equality Act (BGG) came into force in Germany in May 2002. It was created to reduce discrimination against people with disabilities and promote their equal participation in social life.

About the author

Gabriele Horcher is a communication scientist and business development expert. She is a keynote speaker, bestselling author and transformational coach. She answers the most important questions about rapid and disruptive change in all areas of communication.