Understand Your Website’s Legal Accessibility Requirements

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Understand Your Website’s Legal Accessibility Requirements

Posted December 17, 2024

AudioEye

Posted December 17, 2024

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Navigating digital accessibility laws can feel daunting, but understanding the key requirements is essential to avoid legal risks and create an inclusive online experience. This article explores major accessibility laws across the globe, breaking down who these laws apply to and what compliance entails.

Ensuring your website complies with numerous legal requirements is likely one of the top elements you pay attention to as a website owner. You’re likely already familiar with website laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and cookie consent. But there are others, like data security, data privacy, and intellectual property laws, that you may be less familiar with. Digital accessibility laws might also fall into this bucket.

With the focus on digital accessibility increasing, you can’t afford to ignore accessibility laws. And it’s not just about avoiding legal risks — it’s about creating accessible online experiences that everyone can use, regardless of ability. Additionally, ignoring these laws can result in legal action, including lawsuits and costly demand letters. More importantly, it can prevent billions of individuals with disabilities from accessing and navigating your online business. 


Below, we’ll cover the legal requirements surrounding digital accessibility you need to be aware of to avoid legal action. We’ll break down key accessibility requirements, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and the European Accessibility Act (EAA), to help you understand what’s required and how to ensure your website is compliant.

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The ADA is one of the most well-known accessibility laws in the United States. ADA compliance applies to both public and private organizations, including smal businesses, large enterprises, and nonprofits, that provide goods and services to the public. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has repeatedly stated that online spaces, including websites, mobile apps, and online documents, are places of public accommodation and must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. 

The ADA includes five different titles that each address different aspects of accessibility:

  • Title I: Ensures equal employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities in the workplace. 
  • Title II: Title II of the ADA applies specifically to state and local government agencies and requires public entities to provide equal access to programs, services, and activities. Recent updates to Title II include technical specifications on which digital content must be accessible under the ADA. More simply, the new rules require that digital content must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA standards.
  • Title III: Focuses on private businesses and organizations that offer goods and services to the public, including restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, museums, movie theaters, etc. Each of these businesses, including their digital content, must be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
  • Title IV: Mandates that telecommunication systems include accessibility features such as closed captioning for public broadcasts.
  • Title V: Title V covers miscellaneous provisions such as protecting against retaliation for asserting ADA rights.


To meet ADA compliance requirements, your digital content must meet the accessibility standards outlined in WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act

Section 508 is an amendment to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the first federal law to prohibit discrimination against individuals with disabilities. The law applies specifically to federal agencies, including federal government agencies, contractors, and subcontracts. To be Section 508 compliant, government entities must ensure their digital content conforms with the accessibility standards included in WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

Passed in 2005, the AODA built on the Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) by including accessibility standards for key areas of daily life: 

  • Customer service
  • Information and communications
  • Employment
  • Design of public spaces
  • Transportation


The AODA applies specifically to public, private, and nonprofit organizations with operations in Ontario and requires these entities to conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards. The goal is to create a barrier-free province by 2025.

An illustration of the Golden Gate Bridge in California, with an accessibility icon behind it.

California

The Unruh Civil Rights Act

The Unruh Civil Rights Act (also known as California Civil Code Section 51) protects all business establishments within the state from discrimination. The California law, enacted in 1959, prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, and medical condition. It’s designed to ensure that everyone, regardless of ability, has equal access to goods, services, and facilities. 

Though the act itself does not explicitly mention digital accessibility, courts have interpreted the law to apply to websites. Meaning businesses are expected to provide accessible websites or face potential lawsuits.

California Assembly Bill 434 (AB 434)

California AB 434 focuses on accessibility within state government websites and applications. The bill requires that digital content must comply with WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards, and that a designated certifying official within each state agency must sign and post a certification or disclaimer of compliance on the agency’s website. The goal is to ensure transparency and accountability within state agencies, while ensuring online content is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

California Assembly Bill 1757 (AB 1757)

One of California’s newer laws, AB 1757 addresses digital accessibility within the private sector. The bill emphasizes the importance of equal access for all users and requires website to adhere to the specific requirements outlined in WCAG. It also highlights the importance of proactive accessibility measures to prevent discrimination and ensure compliance.

EU Web Accessibility Directive

The EU Web Accessibility Directive aims to make websites and mobile applications of public sector organizations across the European Union accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities. The directive was created in 2016 with the goal to provide a consistent approach to accessibility across the EU. 

The directive applies specifically to public sector organizations, including government websites, educational institutions, and healthcare providers. However, there are exemptions to compliance, including some for broadcasts, non-governmental organizations, and archived content.

Under the EU Web Accessibility Directive, websites and mobile apps must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA and publish an accessibility statement outlining their compliance status, known issues, and feedback mechanism for users to report accessibility problems. Organizations are also required to regularly monitor and report compliance to maintain transparency and accountability.

Ultimately, the goal of the directive is to remove barriers to accessing public information and services, promoting equal access for all EU citizens.

European Accessibility Act (EAA)

The EAA builds on the principles of the Web Accessibility Directive but goes further by specifically addressing accessibility gaps within the private sector. Adopted in 2019, the EAA furthers accessibility efforts across the EU, requiring organizations to ensure their products and services are accessible. 

Under the EAA, private businesses in specific industries, including ecommerce, financial services, telecommunications, transportation, and digital products like e-readers, ecommerce websites, and payment terminals, must be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The act also applies to products and services that are sold or provided in multiple EU states.


To comply with the EAA, organizations must have an accessible business website, user interface, web design, ensure compatibility with assistive technologies, and make essential information available in accessible formats. WCAG 2.1 is used as a benchmark to measure accessibility. Additionally, products must meet accessibility requirements throughout their entire lifecycle, including packaging, instructions, and support services.

Man holding a laptop with a larger stylized web browser behind him. The web browser has various pop-ups, including the accessibility symbol, an error message, WCAG, and other notifications.

What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)?

WCAG is used as the gold standard for accessibility in most (if not all) legal accessibility requirements. The guidelines were developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and provide a clear framework for making websites, mobile apps, social media, and other digital tools usable for people with disabilities. More simply, it’s the roadmap for creating accessible content and covers everything from text readability to compatibility with assistive technologies like screen readers.

WCAG is organized into a a few different versions, each one building on the accessibility requirements of the previous version. The most used versions of WCAG include WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1, and WCAG 2.2. As mentioned in the accessibility laws mentioned above, WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the most common version used to measure accessibility compliance.

Conformance with WCAG is broken down into three levels:

  • Level A: The most basic level of web accessibility.
  • Level AA: This level addresses the biggest accessibility barriers for individuals with disabilities and is the standard most used to measure legal compliance.
  • Level AAA: The highest level of accessibility; however, this level is the most difficult to meet and may not be practical for every website.


Each of these levels are organized around four key principles: digital content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust (POUR). The POUR principles are a way to create an accessible user experience, regardless of ability or how they interact with the web.

1. Color Contrast

Text and other web elements should have sufficient color contrast with the background. Good color contrast ensures content is readable for those with low vision or color blindness. According to WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum), normal text should have a color contrast ratio of 4.5:1 with larger text having a 3:1 ratio. Using a color contrast checker can help you strike this balance.

2. Compatibility with Assistive Technology

WCAG guidelines require that all digital content — including user interfaces, websites, mobile apps, and online documents — must be compatible with assistive technologies, including screen readers, text magnifiers, and voice recognition software. This ensures that screen reader users can navigate and interact with your content effectively.

3. Keyboard Navigation

Many individuals with disabilities don’t use a mouse to navigate online spaces; rather, they rely solely on keyboard commands and shortcuts. Make sure your website is easily navigable by keyboard alone to provide a good experience for keyboard users.

4. Alt Text for Images

Any non-text content, including images, charts, graphs, or tables, must include alt text, which is a written description of the content. This ensures users with visual impairments can understand and interact with the content through screen readers.

5. Closed Captions for Videos

All video content must include closed captions under WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.2: Captions. The use of captions ensures those who are deaf or hard of hearing can interact with the content. It’s also beneficial for those with situational disabilities, such as being in a noisy or sound-off environment, as captions enable them to consume the information provided in the video.

6. Descriptive Headlines

Use clear, hierarchical headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.) to structure your content. Doing so provides a good reading order for assistive technology users, allowing them to more easily navigate your website.

7. Accessible Buttons

Buttons should be clearly labeled with descriptive text to clearly explain their purpose to screen reader users. For example, rather than saying ‘Click Here’, which is vague and may be confusing to screen reader users, say “Click Here to Learn More About WCAG”. This clearly tells users where the link will take them and what they can expect to learn. Additionally, be sure buttons are large enough to be easily clicked or tapped.

8. Forms with Accessible Labels

Ensure all your form fields include clear labels and instructions. Error messages should also be clear and explain exactly where the error occurred and how users can fix it.

9. Accessible Documents

Accessibility requirements also extend to online documents, such as Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, and PDFs. Ensure web-delivered documents include the accessibility best practices mentioned above.

10. Avoid Flashing Content

Avoid using flashing animations, popups, or content that may trigger seizures in individuals with photosensitive epilepsy. If flashing content is unavoidable, include a warning and keep the flashing frequency below the threshold the could cause harm. WCAG Success Criterion 2.3.1: Three Flashes or Below Threshold states that web pages should not contain anything that flashes more than three times in a one-second period.

Penalties for Non-Compliance with Accessibility Laws

Failing to comply with accessibility laws can results in serious consequences for your business — both financially and reputationally. 

Most penalties for non-compliance come in the form of legal issues, including lawsuits, demand letters, or even restrictions on market access, depending on the region and severity of the violation. For example, non-compliance with the ADA in the U.S. can be sued and face costly settlements or court-ordered remediation. Additionally, under the Unruh Act in California, plaintiffs can seek statutory damages of $4,000 per violation, plus attorney fees. These costs can add up quickly, especially if you’re a larger business with a more complex website. Many organizations have been sued for inaccessible websites, with some paying millions in settlements.

Internationally, the penalties can be just as severe. Under the EU Web Accessibility Directive, public sector organizations that fail to meet accessibility requirements may face fines and mandatory corrective actions. Similarly, private businesses that fall under the EAA risk losing access to EU markets if their products or services aren’t compliant. In Canada, the AODA imposes fines of up to $100,000 per day for corporations that fail to meet accessibility standards.

The financial penalties are just part of the picture. Accessibility lawsuits also consume valuable time and resources, disrupt operations, and can tarnish your company’s reputation. Additionally, you might face loss of customer trust and missed opportunities to connect with a broader audience.

Proactively addressing accessibility issues not only helps you avoid these risks but also positions your business as inclusive and forward-thinking — something that resonates strongly with today’s customers.

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AudioEye Assurance: Meet Compliance Standards and Be Protected

Navigating the complexities of website accessibility laws can feel overwhelming. Here’s the good news — it doesn’t have to be. Knowing key accessibility requirements like color contrast, keyboard navigation, accessible documents, keyboard navigation and compatibility with assistive technologies can help you take meaningful steps towards accessibility compliance. Laws like the ADA, AODA, and EAA all emphasize the need to create accessible websites — and the penalties for non-compliance make it clear that accessibility isn’t optional.

That’s where AudioEye comes in. AudioEye takes a three-pronged approach to accessibility, leveraging AI-driven automation technology, audits with experts from the disability community, and testing during the development process to achieve industry-leading compliance with accessibility standards. By taking a hybrid approach to accessibility, AudioEye helps you find and fix more accessibility issues, helping you create more accessible and complaint online experiences.

Offered as an add-on to AudioEye’s Automated Accessibility Platform, AudioEye Assurance gives you peace of mind knowing your digital content is compliant. With our tech-forward approach that combines AI testing with expert testing, we offer a level of legal protection that is 300-400% better than consulting or automation-only. 

Whether you’re just starting your accessibility journey as a small business or need help maintaining compliance in an enterprise setting, AudioEye makes it easy to protect your business and create an accessible, compliant digital experience.

Ready to take the next step? Use our free Website Accessibility Checker to see how accessible your existing content is. 


Want to see how AudioEye can help you meet your compliance goals and build a website that works for everyone? Schedule a demo today.

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