We can all still clearly remember 2018, when scaremongering reports and prophecies made the rounds daily in the media, everyone frantically booked workshops, and one person in each company, usually semi-voluntarily, was appointed Data Protection Officer. All this to avoid any penalties regarding the disclosure or unlawful use of personal data. But let's be honest. Is a moderate level of privacy protection not actually something sensible? A year later, little of the whole commotion remains.
And more importantly, the penalties did not materialise, nor did the excessive effort for data access requests. Although it must be admitted that companies which carelessly continue to collect or share data are certainly confronted with high costs for information requests. Often, the indirect call for this also comes via social media. Their own fault, no sympathy I would say.
Now, the next topic is slowly emerging on the horizon – accessibility. Anyone involved with the web should have already come across the Web Accessibility Act (WZG - Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz). In essence, it does nothing more than transpose European legislation into national law. Public institutions and state-affiliated companies must ensure that their digital information offerings (with some exceptions) are designed to be accessible, thereby guaranteeing equal access to information for all individuals. However, even more important than initial accessibility are the other key points of the Act:
Website operators must ensure that – an ongoing evaluation of the offering is carried out to maintain accessibility. – an accessibility statement is published on the website, easily accessible (via the homepage). – complaints from visitors are received, reviewed, and if deficiencies exist, measures are taken to rectify them. – training programmes or courses for employees are coordinated to build knowledge about accessibility and generally raise awareness on this topic.
The WZG could also be seen as a missing puzzle piece, as there is already the Federal Disability Equality Act, as well as the Federal Procurement Act. With the WZG, however, it is now clearly and unmistakably defined what needs to be done.
Now, some of you are probably still wondering what the WZG has to do with the GDPR. Fundamentally, these topics are far apart, and their scopes could not be more different. However, it is only a matter of time before the European Disability Act will extend its reach to private companies. One might think, that's not bad. Correct, but with a slight bitter taste. Because already, self-proclaimed Accessibility Experts are popping up everywhere, trying to make easy money by instilling a little fear. It can happen that nearly EUR 20,000 is demanded for the accessible design of a digital image folder with 15 pages. And this is exactly where the parallels to the GDPR lie, because these amounts are simply extortionate.
Digital Accessibility – Quo Vadis?
Fundamentally, digital accessibility naturally represents an additional effort, albeit a vanishingly small one. Because if considered from the outset, web accessibility is only about the experience/creativity of designers and the quality standards of developers. Over the last 15 years, web technologies have changed ever more rapidly, and due to companies' demands for advertising, it was necessary to churn out microsites, etc., ever faster. The focus was largely only on the visual. However, there is now slowly a turnaround, as it has been understood that an accessible website not only helps people with disabilities but also brings significant advantages to the company. Through clean semantics, correctly marked links, alt text, responsive behaviour, and many other measures, SEO performance also improves. And an intuitively usable website with a logical structure and predictable processes also increases the conversion rate.
I can still clearly remember countless meetings with clients or leads where an accessible implementation was rejected because this target group was considered uninteresting. One really has to let that statement sink in. After all, around 15% of the population in Austria live with a permanent disability. Meanwhile, a different picture is slowly emerging here too. SEO, conversions, and CSR have become much more important for companies, and so demand has also significantly increased.
Fundamentally, I can only recommend to every responsible person to design planned projects accessibly. Because just like with the WZG now, there will eventually be deadlines for private companies. Subsequent adaptation of websites is associated with sometimes enormous costs. And these should be avoided. Let's be honest. Who isn't frustrated when trying to operate a slider, a form, or anything else on a website with the keyboard, and it doesn't work. There are so many advantages that also benefit unimpaired individuals and thus significantly improve the user experience.
But who should one turn to now? If a contract is put out to tender, the requirement for accessibility must also be noted here. The legal framework prescribes conformity according to WCAG 2.0 AA, although 2.1 already exists, differing by 13 success criteria. Our advice is to follow 2.1. Upon completion, it is almost impossible for many responsible persons to determine whether the website is truly accessible. To check this, one should seek an experienced expert for an audit, or even agree during the contract award that acceptance will only occur if the WACA certificate is issued. Through this external expertise, the client receives a precise picture of the problems and can thus enforce rectifications from the supplier much more easily.
