Standards & Guidelines
WCAG
One of the most widely recognized accessibility guidelines is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines provide a standard for web accessibility, outlining specific requirements for making web content perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. The WCAG guidelines are organized into three levels of conformance: A, AA, and AAA, with each level representing a higher degree of accessibility.
UK Equality Act
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and wider society. It replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single Act, making the law easier to understand and strengthening protection in some situations. It sets out the different ways in which it’s unlawful to treat someone. The law requires organizations to make their products and services accessible to people with disabilities. These laws apply to a wide range of products and services, including websites, mobile applications, and electronic documents.
European Accessibility Act
The European accessibility act (EAA) is a directive that aims to improve the functioning of the internal market for accessible products and services, by removing barriers created by divergent rules in Member States. The European accessibility act covers products and services that have been identified as being most important for persons with disabilities while being most likely to have diverging accessibility requirements across EU countries. To gain a deeper understanding of the EAA conformity requirements, check out this overview of EAA conformity across various nations.
| Country | Minimum requirements | Implementation deadline | Potential penalty | Official info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latvia | Websites and mobile apps must meet at least WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance | Deadline to adopt into national law was June 2022, while websites, mobile apps, ATMs, transport, etc. need to comply by 2025 | Administrative fines of up to €700 for non-compliance with current accessibility laws. Higher fines of up to €7000 for companies/institutions are possible | More info |
| Lithuania | Websites and mobile apps required to meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards at a minimum | Transposed directive into law in 2022, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines range from €500-2500, and may go up to €15,000 | More info |
| Estonia | Minimum conformance to WCAG 2.1 Level AA required for public sector websites and apps. Private sector digital services expected to follow WCAG 2.1 AA | Adopted EU directive in December 2021, while deadline for websites, apps, self-service machines is 2025 | Administrative fines up to €32,000 under current laws | More info |
| France | Minimum compliance with RGAA 4 accessibility standard for websites/apps | Adopted into law in 2021, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines up to €45,000, up to €225,000 for repeated lack of compliance | More info |
| Spain | Minimum conformity with WCAG 2.0 AA level | Transposed directive into national law in 2022, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines from €301 up to €1,000,000 | More info |
| Belgium | Minimum conformity with WCAG 2.1 AA level | Adopted directive into law in 2022, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Administrative fines between €800-€80,000 | More info |
| Netherlands | Websites/apps must meet WCAG 2.1 AA. Digital services follow EN 301 549 standard | Adopted into law in 2022, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines up to €21,750 per violation | More info |
| Norway | Likely alignment with WCAG 2.1 AA for websites and apps | Not an EU member but considering aligning with act. | Current fines up to NOK 138,500 per violation | More info |
| Sweden | Minimum compliance with standard EN 301 549 for all products and services covered | Adopted directive in 2021, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | No defined fines yet, to be set later | More info |
| Finland | Require adherence to WCAG 2.1 AA for digital services | Adopted into national law in 2021, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines up to €15,000 | More info |
| Poland | Minimum of WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for websites and apps | Adopted directive in 2022, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines around 6,500 to 65,000 złoty (€1,400 - €14,000) | More info |
| Italy | Websites/apps must comply with Stanca Act mandating WCAG 2.1 AA | Adopted directive in 2021, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Current fines from €8,000 to €80,000 | More info |
| Greece | Expected alignment with WCAG 2.1 AA for digital services | Adopted directive in 2021, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Fines not defined yet but expected to be imposed | More info |
| Germany | BGG and BITV 2.0 | June 2025 | Fines up to €100,000 | More info |
| Denmark | WCAG 2.1 AA | June 2025 | No official information about fines | More info |
| Czechia | WCAG 2.1 AA, Government entities | June 2025 | No official information about fines | More info |
| Hungary | WCAG 2.1, Government entities | June 2025 | No official information about fines | More info |
| Austria | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | Up to €80,000 | More info |
| Bulgaria | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | No official information about fines | More info |
| Romania | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | 500 - 1000 RON | More info |
| Ireland | WCAG 2.1 AA | Adopted directive in 2020, while the deadline for implementation is 2025 | Fines not defined yet | More info |
| Portugal | WCAG 2.1 | Digital Maturity Seals (SMD) implemented. Possible to get certification | A fine graduated between 20 and 30 times the value of the guaranteed minimum monthly remuneration | More info |
| Cyprus | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | No information found, documents do not open from the government website | Laws and resolutions regarding persons with disabilities |
| Luxembourg | WCAG 2.1. Minimum compliance with standard EN 301 549. RGAA version 4 document not available to view | June 2025 | No fines defined yet unless it is in RGAA 4 | More info |
| Croatia | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | HRK 2,000 to HRK 50,000 (260 eur - 6500 eur) | More info |
| Slovenia | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | 200 to 2,000 euros | More info |
| Slovakia | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | No fines defined in the regulation | More info |
| Malta | WCAG 2.1 | June 2025 | Up to €2,500 | More info |
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a US law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires organizations to make their products and services accessible. The ADA applies to a wide range of products and services, including websites, mobile applications, and electronic documents.
Game accessibility guidelines
Accessibility means avoiding unnecessary barriers that prevent people with a range of impairments from accessing or enjoying your output. 16% of the population are disabled, rising to 20% amongst casual gamers. Other conditions that aren’t registered disabilities can also hit barriers. 14% of the adult population have a reading age of below 11 years old, 8% of males have red-green color deficiency, and many people have temporary impairments such as a broken arm. Many more have situational impairments such as playing in a noisy room or bright sunlight, and all players have different levels of ability and different preferences – there’s no ‘typical gamer’.
These guidelines are in three categories – basic, intermediate and advanced. These levels are based on a balance of three things:
- Reach (number of people who benefit)
- Impact (the difference made to those people)
- Value (cost to implement)
They are then grouped in sub-categories that relate to types of skill / impairment: motor, cognitive, visual and speech, and also some general considerations that apply to all areas.