Accessibility: a tutorial to bridge the digital divide

June 28, 2025 marks an important milestone in the fight for inclusion: on this date, companies offering digital products and services will have to comply with the accessibility criteria defined by the European Accessibility Act. The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a European directive adopted in 2019, transposed into French law by a law passed in March 2023. Its objective is to harmonize accessibility requirements within the European Union, with the aim of promoting a more inclusive society.

The text requires companies to adapt their platforms, tools, and products to ensure a digital experience that is accessible to all, regardless of disability. The scope is broad: consumer electronics (televisions, smartphones, computers, game consoles, etc.), ATMs and vending machines, websites, etc. For the latter, this involves ergonomic improvements, such as enhancing color contrast.

Digital inclusion: tools to make products and services accessible

Several resources are available to help affected businesses. The government has developed a general framework for improving accessibility ( RGAA ), now in its fourth version. It has become essential for many professions, such as website designers, who seek to achieve the highest possible accessibility score. AFNOR, for its part, has helped around 30 economic players to develop a guide to immersion in the subject. free download and designed as a checklist covering the concepts of digital parenting, challenges in public services, the case of libraries, the definition of progress measurement indicators, the use of user tests, etc.

The recommendations in this reference document can be summarized as follows:

• access, develop, and include: promoting access to infrastructure and facilities;
• target the most vulnerable groups;
• test, adapt, and support (distinguishing between market and non-market services),
• understand, empower, and train;
• raise awareness, engage, and involve;
• Establish partnerships to strengthen the impact of actions.

This AFNOR Spec, published in May 2025, aims to support and amplify the joint efforts of politicians, civil society, and businesses to combat the digital divide. In addition, the "Accessibility and Design for All" standardization committee ( P96A in AFNOR jargon), approached the EAA to broaden its scope of activity, which was previously limited to accessibility in buildings. 27% of the European Union's population, or 101 million people, live with a disability. That represents one in four adults. Faced with this reality, accessibility is a necessity and an essential driver of innovation, she points out. Interested professionals are always welcome to join.

In 2025, this committee has planned numerous tasks, either to draft new documents or to revise existing ones, such as the standard NF P96-108  of 2020 on maintenance plans to ensure the use of accessibility solutions for all in establishments open to the public (ERP), or the standard NF X50-783  from 2014 listing requirements and recommendations for disability-friendly organizations. Among the new topics planned for 2025 are audible signals in public buildings and the accessibility of ATMs in public buildings, as part of the transposition of the European Products and Services Directive and the European standard. NF EN 17210 .