TheEU Accessibility Act (EAA) entered into force on 28 June 2025 and marks a significant change in the European Union. It defines accessibility requirements for people with disabilities and does not concern only public organisations. Let’s explore together.
Key takeaways:
- From June 28, 2025, certain products — computers, smartphones, e-readers — and services — e-commerce, audiovisual media, banking services, etc. — must comply with new accessibility requirements.
- Exemptions apply to small service providers with fewer than 10 employees or under €2M in annual turnover.
- Most SEO best practices support accessibility goals, but it's still useful to know the European requirements for making your sites and apps accessible.
This article in audio format 
What is the European Accessibility Act (European Accessibility Act)
TheEU Accessibility Act (European Accessibility Act, Directive 2019/882/EU) is European Union legislation that, from June 2025, imposes minimum accessibility requirements for certain essential products and services (notably digital) to ensure access for people with disabilities.
It applies to all products and services created from June 2025. For existing products and services, the deadline is set at 28 June 2030, by which they must comply with the accessibility requirements.
Which services and which businesses are targeted?
Included:
- online stores,
- mobile apps,
- banking services,
- interactive kiosks,
- e-readers,
- booking systems,
- or digital communication tools.
In other words: a large share of the web interfaces used daily. And by extension, the professions across the entire digital ecosystem are affected: development, content, UX, including SEO.
Small service providers (fewer than 10 employees and less than €2 million in turnover) are exempt from the obligation to comply with the directive. But this exemption does not apply to small companies that manufacture products (smartphones, computers, e-readers, payment terminals, etc.), which remain subject to accessibility obligations.
Compliance requirements for websites and apps are evolving
PUCR: here’s a new acronym to remember. Websites and mobile applications must be:
- Perceivable : information and user interface components must be presented in a way that makes them perceivable by all users.
- Usable : the interface components and navigation must be usable by everyone. Examples: keyboard navigation, enough time to read/use content, absence of content that triggers seizures, etc.
- Understandable : information and the operation of the interface must be understandable.
- Robust : content must be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
Perceivable : information and user interface components must be presented in a way that makes them perceivable by all users.
Usable : the interface components and navigation must be usable by everyone. Examples: keyboard navigation, enough time to read/use content, absence of content that triggers seizures, etc.
Understandable : information and the operation of the interface must be understandable.
Robust : content must be robust enough to be reliably interpreted by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.What this changes for SEO
Rest assured, good SEO practices already serve accessibility objectives: logical content structure, relevant alternative text, clear links, mobile compatibility… To comply with this new regulatory obligation, it will be necessary comply with the WCAG 2.1 recommendations (AA level) and be able to document this compliance at any time (doesn't this remind you of the GDPR rollout?).
Here are detailed examples of technical requirements applied to SEO:
| WCAG/EN 301 549 Principle | Technical requirement (accessibility) |
|---|---|
| Perceivable | All informative images must include an alt attribute describing their function or content. |
| Perceivable | The contrast between text and background must be at least 4.5:1 to improve readability. |
| Perceivable | Headings must be logically hierarchical (H1, H2, H3 tags), lists must use the tags <ul>, <ol>, <li>. |
| Operable | All interactive elements must be keyboard-accessible and provide a visible focus indicator. |
| Understandable | The document's primary language must be specified in the lang attribute <html lang="fr"> |
| Understandable | Each field must have an explicit label associated via the for attribute for. |
| Robust | The code must comply with standards and be compatible with assistive technologies (valid HTML, ARIA, etc.). |
An SEO audit to complete?
No need to overhaul your audits overnight. But incorporating some accessibility markers into your analysis frameworks can now make sense. Concrete examples:
- Identify unstructured areas or visually clear elements that are invisible to assistive technologies.
- Check the actual hierarchy of HTML headings, beyond appearance.
- Identify media content without a text alternative or transcript.
- Analyze color contrasts, especially for buttons and CTAs.
If you're starting out, know that Google Lighthouse includes an accessibility report, allowing you to take a first step into these issues:
The article “European Accessibility Act: these new web accessibility requirements in effect since 28 June 2025” was published on the site Abondance.
