New Rules on Accessibility of Services for People with Disabilities
New Rules on Accessibility of Services for People with Disabilities
January 2025
Barbara Hocevar, Partner, and Lidija Zupancic, Attorney at Law
Selih & partnerji
The year 2025 brings an important development in the area of equal access to products and services for people with different forms of disability. Mid this year, on 28 June 2025, the Act on Accessibility of Products and Services for Persons with Disabilities transposing into Slovenian national legislation the European Accessibility Act¹ will enter into force.
The law sets out a number of conditions that companies must meet to ensure that products and services are accessible to people with disabilities. This article focuses on the accessibility conditions applicable online shops (e-shops), but it is worth noting that the law also determines special accessibility conditions applicable to electronic communication services, AVMS, certain forms of public transport, consumer banking services and e-books.
What does the new rules bring for e-commerce providers?
The new rules determine that e-commerce services must comply with the general conditions for accessibility of services. This means that accessibility to e-commerce services should be ensured by using the following assistive technologies:
- ensuring the accessibility of the products used in the provision of the service in accordance with the statutory conditions applicable to products,
- information on the functioning of the service and, where products are used in the provision of the service, its link to these products as well as information about their accessibility characteristics and interoperability with assistive devices and facilities, whereby the following applies:
(a) information is available through more than one sensing sensory channel, (b) the information is presented in an understandable way, (c) information is presented in a way that users can perceive it, (d) information content is available in text formats that allow alternative assistive formats that can be displayed to users in more than one way and through more than sensory channel, (e) presenting in fonts of adequate size and suitable shape, taking into account foreseeable conditions of use and using sufficient contrast, as well as adjustable spacing between letters, lines and paragraphs, (f) any non-textual content shall be supplemented with an alternative presentation of that content, (g) providing electronic information needed in the provision of the service in a consistent and adequate way by making it perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, |
- ensuring that websites, including related online applications and mobile device-based services, including mobile applications, are accessible, usable, understandable and reliable in a consistent and appropriate manner,
- support services (helpdesks, call centres, technical support, porting services and training services), where available, that provide information on the accessibility of the service and its compatibility with assistive technologies, through accessible means of communication.
European Accessibility Act also includes other, additional requirements and examples of solutions for ensuring accessibility of e-commerce, but the Slovenian legislator has chosen not to transpose them into Slovenian legislation. Therefore, e-commerce providers in Slovenia are subject to only the general conditions for ensuring accessibility of services presented above.
It is worth noting that the law will not apply to micro-enterprises providing services.
The importance of new rules and opportunities for business
New rules are an important milestone in ensuring an inclusive society where services, including e-commerce services, shall be accessible to all, regardless of their physical or other limitations. Time will tell how successful we will be in achieving this goal, but adapting online shops and other services for people with disabilities is a step towards a more equal society which, by increasing the range of people who can use the services, brings new business opportunities for companies.
¹ Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on accessibility requirements for products and services.
January 2025
Barbara Hocevar, Partner, and Lidija Zupancic, Attorney at Law
Selih & partnerji
The year 2025 brings an important development in the area of equal access to products and services for people with different forms of disability. Mid this year, on 28 June 2025, the Act on Accessibility of Products and Services for Persons with Disabilities transposing into Slovenian national legislation the European Accessibility Act¹ will enter into force.
The law sets out a number of conditions that companies must meet to ensure that products and services are accessible to people with disabilities. This article focuses on the accessibility conditions applicable online shops (e-shops), but it is worth noting that the law also determines special accessibility conditions applicable to electronic communication services, AVMS, certain forms of public transport, consumer banking services and e-books.
What does the new rules bring for e-commerce providers?
The new rules determine that e-commerce services must comply with the general conditions for accessibility of services. This means that accessibility to e-commerce services should be ensured by using the following assistive technologies:
- ensuring the accessibility of the products used in the provision of the service in accordance with the statutory conditions applicable to products,
- information on the functioning of the service and, where products are used in the provision of the service, its link to these products as well as information about their accessibility characteristics and interoperability with assistive devices and facilities, whereby the following applies:
(a) information is available through more than one sensing sensory channel, (b) the information is presented in an understandable way, (c) information is presented in a way that users can perceive it, (d) information content is available in text formats that allow alternative assistive formats that can be displayed to users in more than one way and through more than sensory channel, (e) presenting in fonts of adequate size and suitable shape, taking into account foreseeable conditions of use and using sufficient contrast, as well as adjustable spacing between letters, lines and paragraphs, (f) any non-textual content shall be supplemented with an alternative presentation of that content, (g) providing electronic information needed in the provision of the service in a consistent and adequate way by making it perceivable, operable, understandable and robust, |
- ensuring that websites, including related online applications and mobile device-based services, including mobile applications, are accessible, usable, understandable and reliable in a consistent and appropriate manner,
- support services (helpdesks, call centres, technical support, porting services and training services), where available, that provide information on the accessibility of the service and its compatibility with assistive technologies, through accessible means of communication.
European Accessibility Act also includes other, additional requirements and examples of solutions for ensuring accessibility of e-commerce, but the Slovenian legislator has chosen not to transpose them into Slovenian legislation. Therefore, e-commerce providers in Slovenia are subject to only the general conditions for ensuring accessibility of services presented above.
It is worth noting that the law will not apply to micro-enterprises providing services.
The importance of new rules and opportunities for business
New rules are an important milestone in ensuring an inclusive society where services, including e-commerce services, shall be accessible to all, regardless of their physical or other limitations. Time will tell how successful we will be in achieving this goal, but adapting online shops and other services for people with disabilities is a step towards a more equal society which, by increasing the range of people who can use the services, brings new business opportunities for companies.
¹ Directive (EU) 2019/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 on accessibility requirements for products and services.