New law: accessibility for digital services from June 28, 2025!

New law: accessibility for digital services from June 28, 2025!

Berlin, Deutschland - On June 28, 2025, the accessibility law (BFSG) comes into force in Germany, which represents an important step towards digital accessibility for the private sector. The law was created to enable all people, regardless of their restrictions, to access digital products and services. The affected areas include important digital infrastructures such as websites, online shops, apps, mobile phones, smart TVs, tablets and automatic self-service. According to berlin.de, a market surveillance site of the federal states for the accessibility of products and services (MLBF) will start operating in Saxony-Anhalt in summer 2025 after all federal states conclude a state contract for tasks have.

The need for legislative initiatives such as the BFSG is undeniable. It is estimated that around 7.9 million people with severe disabilities live in Germany, which corresponds to around 10% of the total population. However, only a fraction of the digital infrastructure is currently accessible to people with disabilities. [Deutschlandfunk] (https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/ Inclusion-Digital-barrier-barrier-barrier-bfSg-100.html) underlines that many websites and digital services are difficult or unusable for this group of people.

rights and regulations

The BFSG obliges private companies to digital accessibility and include numerous services, including online shops, banks, insurance and digital health services. The aim of the law is that every person can use these services without outside help. The UN Convention on the Rights of Disabilities also requires equal access to information and communication technologies, which is implemented in national law by the BFSG. It should be emphasized that a transition period of 15 years to accessibility is planned for digital products such as smartphones.

Current evaluations show that the implementation of the BFSG's requirements has major challenges. An analysis of datapulse Research has shown that only 1% of the 2,400 online shop examined fully met the BFSG requirements. Significant defects were also found in a test report: a third of 65 tested e-commerce pages has been classified as barrier-free. Critics of the law express concerns that companies could buy freedom through fines, while the fear of warning waves in the industry is a big topic.

a global goal

The BFSG is more than just a national measure; It also implements the European "European Accessibility Act" European Directive in national law. The process for promoting digital accessibility is a central concern of the European Commission, such as digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu emphasizes. Public services and information are increasingly available online, and the EU created building blocks for digital accessibility in 2016 that came into force in 2021.