Digitalisation & Technology, 20 November 2025
Accessibility Enhancement Act: Between hurdles and opportunities
At the end of the year, we ask: Does all this go far enough?
The Accessibility Enhancement Act (BFSG) has been in force since this summer. What sounds like a bureaucratic tongue twister is both a milestone and a challenge. Similar to the introduction of the GDPR, there was initially a great deal of excitement among companies: Who or what is affected? What is mandatory, what is nice to have? At the end of the year, we ask: Does all this go far enough?
It took Germany a long time to understand accessibility not only as a socio-political issue, but also as an economic one. Since the summer of 2025, the Accessibility Enhancement Act has been forcing companies, administrations and service providers to break down digital barriers. For the first time, the law stipulates that digital offerings – from banking apps to ticket machines to online shops – must be designed in such a way that they can be used independently by all people. For companies, this initially meant work – but also an opportunity to make their offerings more customer-friendly.
From European ideal to German reality
The European Accessibility Act, on which the BFSG is based, was adopted back in 2019. Its aim: a single EU internal market for accessible products and services. In theory, manufacturers should be able to sell their accessible devices and software solutions in all EU countries in future without having to meet different national requirements. In 2021, the BFSG was passed in this country – with a transition period until 2025. Five years' lead time that companies could have used. Not all of them did.
This was perhaps also due to the fact that accessibility was long considered a niche issue – often reduced to ramps and lifts. It was only the increasing digital transformation and pressure from Brussels that brought the issue to the fore. Added to this are social changes: an ageing population, new forms of work, more online commerce – all of which demanded simple, accessible digital solutions – not as a special case, but as standard.
What the law specifically requires
The BFSG defines what must be accessible – and who is responsible for it. The products and services affected are computers, smartphones, cash machines, ticket machines, reading devices, e-book software, telecommunications devices, banking apps, ticketing portals, navigation apps, digital communication services and, of course, e-commerce websites. If, for example, an online shop displays pop-ups that cannot be closed or cover the screen, this violates the BFSG. The same applies if contrasts are too weak or controls cannot be accessed via the keyboard.
The companies concerned must now ensure that their products and digital services meet the requirements for perceptibility, operability, understandability and robustness – in accordance with the four pillars of accessibility according to WCAG 2.1 AA. They are also required to publish an accessibility statement describing which parts of their offering are accessible, where restrictions exist and how feedback can be submitted. This statement is more than a formality: it creates transparency and makes it possible to take action against violations.
No rule without exceptions and deadlines
Micro-enterprises are partially exempt from all of this, as are older devices that were placed on the market before the deadline. A transition period until 2040 applies to self-service terminals. This is understandable because, for example, the technical conversion of ticket machines is complex and costly. However, these exceptions and long deadlines are also causing discontent. Social welfare organisations see the law as a good first step, but at the same time criticise the fact that it only regulates digital services or products, and not stairs, ramps or signs. In addition, the micro-enterprise regulation (fewer than ten employees) affects 82 per cent of all companies. The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired goes even further in its criticism: in its view, the law violates applicable law. Equal participation is not guaranteed if, for example, the requirements for cash machines only become binding in 15 years' time. This means that the law on participation would remain theoretical.
Practical test highlights relevance of the BFSG
A few weeks before the BFSG came into force, the third joint study by Aktion Mensch, Google and other partners clearly showed how urgently binding rules for digital accessibility are needed.
Sixty-five of the top 500 websites that have an integrated e-commerce shop and map the entire user journey from browsing to purchase were tested. The testing was carried out by experienced people with disabilities. The focus was on everyday usability: Can a page be operated using a keyboard? Can users adjust the contrast and font size themselves? Are videos or audio files designed in such a way that they can be easily accessed, paused or stopped?
The results were sobering: only a third of providers met the basic principles of a barrier-free online shop. Only 20 could be operated without a mouse. The majority had poor contrast and no visible or colour-accentuated focus frame – people with visual impairments then do not know whether they are currently in the shopping basket or in the search field.
Who monitors implementation?
This raises the question: how and by whom is it checked whether providers and service providers covered by the BFSG have done their homework? This would actually be a matter for the federal states. However, it has been agreed to set up a central office: the Market Surveillance Authority of the Federal States for the Accessibility of Products and Services, or MLBF for short. Its task is to ensure that the requirements are enforced uniformly throughout Germany. Formally, the authority, with its planned headquarters in Magdeburg, has existed since 26 September 2025.
Penalties of up to €100,000
In fact, companies that have not yet adapted their digital offerings, such as online shops, apps or digital sales processes, despite sufficient lead time, face severe penalties. Fines of up to €100,000 may be imposed. The legislator can even demand that a product or service be taken offline until it has been rectified. Warnings from competitors or interest and consumer groups are also possible.
Such penalties can ensure that rules are followed – but they do not raise awareness. Many companies immediately removed the issue of accessibility from their agenda as soon as it became clear that they were not affected. This is a shame, because every website that is designed to be accessible is not only pleasant for people with disabilities.
Ways to promote accessibility in your company
The real problem is not so much money as attitude. Many still see accessibility as a special service for a few rather than a matter of course for everyone. Yet people without disabilities also benefit from better readability, clearer structures, easier operation and more understandable language.
Artificial intelligence can already help in this area today.
Take a website where content has to be updated daily. AI can already convert this content quickly and effectively into simple language or generate translations, alt text and suitable images. Ultimately, however, there should still be a human authority checking the results. This is because subtleties still require human sensitivity with regard to context and nuances.
Tools such as wave.webaim.org provide good initial analyses for websites, but they do not replace the work involved in creating content. The content must also be well structured, the heading hierarchy must be clear, media must be adequately described for screen readers, and much more. The start-up Eye-Able, which is also a partner in our ERGO ScaleHub, ensures the smooth implementation of inclusive, accessible websites at ERGO. The Eye-Able platform makes it easy to optimise every page accordingly.
In an interview, Eye-Able founder Chris Schmidt explains how Eye-Able and ERGO are driving digital inclusion and why accessibility is more than just compliance with the law.
Accessibility belongs at the heart of society
For a modern and open-minded society, it is desirable that the issue of accessibility is understood even more strongly as a natural part of everyday life. The BFSG is an important building block because it has been developed on a broad basis – for example, through the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and growing awareness in society. Accessibility should be removed from its ‘special role’ and considered wherever people learn, work and live. Away from ‘We only do this for the ten per cent of people with disabilities’ to ‘We do it this way’. Period. This also seems like a good idea in view of an increasingly ageing society.
Next, we could think about greater accessibility on social media platforms in the digital world. A self-experiment by Deutschlandfunk shows that even public service content is often not accessible there. Genuine digital participation could be achieved if platforms took responsibility – for example, by not allowing any images to be published without alt text.
Text: Alexa Brandt
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