Page 6 - Whitepaper: The European Accessibility Act and What it Means for the Global Publishing Industry

6 Straive | The European Accessibility Act and What it Means for the Global Publishing Industry

Impact of EAA on the Publishing Industry

Publishers are required to create their digital publications in an accessible manner under
the EAA. Further, the EAA mandates that all parties in the supply chain (online platforms,
e-commerce websites, retailers, hardware and software reading solutions, DRM solutions,
etc.) make content accessible to users through accessible services so that any user can
complete the entire process independently.

The EAA establishes the following conditions for both products and services:

- Mandatory adherence to the rules
- The ability to certify compliance
- European and national enforcement authorities.

The EAA will have a significant impact on all the players in the digital publishing industry since
it covers not just e-books but also specialized reading software, e-reading devices, and
e-commerce as well. E-books and e-reading software solutions are categorized as services.
Therefore, in addition to publishers, everyone participating in the dissemination of publications
in the following sectors falls within the definition of a service provider:

- e-commerce websites, mobile apps, online platforms, distributors and online retailers
- e-reading software solutions
- Metadata
- Digital rights management (DRM) solutions

• Standard Requirements

The requirements outlined in the EAA may be used in conjunction with several standards
issued by the publishing industry, including:

- The standard formats used to create e-books that comply with the EAA's
accessibility guidelines
- Metadata that describes in detail the accessibility of products and services should
be made available to end users through standard distribution methods, allowing
users with specialized reading needs to make educated purchasing decisions.

In the publishing industry, the W3C standards have already been adopted for websites, apps,
and e-commerce. These standards are in line with the accessibility requirements of the EAA
and the EU Harmonized Standard EN 301 549 V2.1.2 (2018-08), which is already in place. The
EAA specifies the bare minimum requirements that must be accomplished without providing
instructions on how to do so. Additionally, the European Commission has the authority to
define the accessibility standards outlined in Annex I of the Directive. It may also request
that the European Standardization organizations create unified guidelines for the product
accessibility requirements listed in Annex I.