The European Accessibility Act (EAA) was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union in 2019 with the aim of making wide categories of products and services more accessible to persons with disabilities such as smartphones, ticketing machines, banking services, and e-books. EU Member States had to transpose the directive into their national laws by the 28th of June 2022, meaning that the EAA took effect at that point. Once entering into force in 2025, the EAA is expected to improve the lives of millions of Europeans with disabilities by ensuring that they can access and use a wide range of products and services, including those provided online. This session will discuss the likely impact of the EAA on global markets, how it may differ from the legal frameworks of other regions and how organizations providing products or services in Europe should prepare themselves for it.
Session Chair: Klaus Hoeckner, Managing Director, Austrian Association for the Blind and Low Vision
Panelists:
- Inmaculada Placencia Porrero, Sr. Expert in Disability and Inclusion, D-G Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, European Commission (video presentation)
- Alejandro Moledo del Río, Deputy Director, European Disability Forum (remote speaker)
- Christopher Patnoe, Head of Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, EMEA, Google
- Susanna Laurin, CPACC, IAAP GLC Honorary Chair & EU Representative
This video is lacking captions. We expect captions by February 14, 2024.
