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Accessibility of online public services to be increased for disabled, elderly: EP

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

New European Union (EU) regulations requiring that websites and apps for public administrations, hospitals, courts and other public sector organizations, be made accessible to all, were approved Wednesday by the European Parliament (EP) meeting in Strasbourg for its plenary session.

The web accessibility directive, already given the green light by the EP and the European Council, should make it easier for elderly people and those living with disabilities to access data and services online.

Under the new rules, public sector websites and apps will have to meet common accessibility standards, even those apps used on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.

"Today, we have ensured that e-government is accessible to everyone. Just as physical government buildings should be accessible, so too should the digital gateways," said rapporteur Dita Charanzova.

"We solved the public side of web accessibility, but the internet is far more than government websites and apps. We need reform also for the private world of services, from banks to television stations to private hospitals. I hope that we can soon adopt the European Accessibility Act, so that both public and private services are accessible to all our citizens," said Charanzova.

Organizations in the public sector will also be required to regularly update a "detailed, comprehensive and clear accessibility statement" on the compliance of their websites and apps with the directive, including explanations for content that is not accessible and reasons for inaccessibility.

A "feedback mechanism" will also be required in order to allow users to report compliance issues and request specific information if content is inaccessible.

Once the directive is published in the EU Official Journal, it will enter into force and EU member states will have 21 months to transpose it into their national laws.

They will then have 12 months to apply the provisions to new websites, 24 months to apply them to existing website, and 33 months to apply them to public sector organization's mobile applications.

Close to 80 million people in the EU live with a disability. As the EU's population steadily ages, the number of people with disabilities or age-related internet accessibility issues is expected to increase to 120 million by 2020. Endit