Website accessibility issues identified by Dutch regulator

Research undertaken by the Dutch regulator found that 61% of the largest Dutch e-commerce platforms are designed in such a way that people with a disability – for example, visually impaired people – are unable to place an online order. The results of its study stem from an audit the ACM undertook of around 100 platforms, including the websites of telecoms and energy providers.

In a statement, the regulator gave examples of the problems that were encountered in its audit.

“Think, for example, of an order button that cannot be clicked with assistive technology,” the ACM said. “Or an inaccessible puzzle to check whether a user is a human being ('Captcha check'), which prevents consumers from entering a website. In addition, 33% percent of the e-commerce platforms examined had 'serious problems'. While ordering a product is possible, it takes considerably more effort, because the user is unable to consume all of the platform’s content.”

The ACM said that research it commissioned highlights the intent of most companies to make their websites digitally accessible but that it also identified “lack of time, money and technical expertise and lack of clarity about the obligations” those companies have as “frequently mentioned limiting factors for working on accessibility”.

The ACM said the situation “can and must be improved” and that digital accessibility will be a focus of its supervisory activities.

Legislation that entered into force last summer harmonises accessibility requirements across the EU and set goals that all EU member states must achieve, whilst also allowing them to decide how to transpose these into national regulations in their own jurisdictions.

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is applicable to a range of digital products, which need to meet functional accessibility requirements, such as accessible user interfaces and instructions. These products include hardware; computers and operating systems; games consoles; self-service cash and ticketing machines; and smartphones and e-readers.

Services that fall within the legislation’s scope include electronic communication services, e-commerce services, transport services, audiovisual media services, telecommunications, and financial services. The EAA applies to various businesses within the supply chain, as well as to online platforms and e-commerce providers, including retailers.

According to the EAA’s text, services need to be “perceivable, operable, understandable and robust”. For instance, providing text or speech simultaneously, or enabling users to adjust settings such as contrast or letter type on websites.

A five-year transition period applies from entry into force of the EAA on 28 June 2025, but only to products used for the provision of a service which were placed on the market before that date, unless they are replaced by the service provider during the transitional period. Separate transition arrangements apply to self-service terminals that were already in use before 28 June 2025.