Accessibility of websites and mobile apps : a study on the current practices regarding accessibility statements, reporting mechanisms and mobile monitoring methodologies : final report

Equal access to information and services is a human right applicable to all, including those with the disability making use of the internet. To ensure people with a disability can make use of digitally provided information and public services in Europe, the European Union adopted the Web Accessibility Directive, stipulating Public Sector Bodies to make their websites and mobile applications accessible by 2018. This report presents the current practices in this field and how these can support the development of a European harmonised framework. Based on the examination, the study recommends a standard template for the accessibility statement, presenting relevant content regarding the as-is situation for both end-users and monitoring purposes. For reporting, the study recommends a delegated system in which Public Sector Bodies provide data by assessing their own websites and mobile applications. This data is controlled and aggregated at the national level to determine the level of conformance and to be sent to the Commission. To monitor mobile applications, it recommends the developers to evaluate the accessibility and communicate the results to the respective application owners. This allows for efficient evaluation and relatively easy mitigation of issues, improving the accessibility of mobile applications.