What the European Accessibility Act means for media applications

IntroductionIntroduction

On June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) will officially take effect. This legislation mandates that a wide range of digital products and services across the EU, including media applications, must meet a defined standard of accessibility for users with disabilities. Whether your platform or app runs on web, mobile, smartTV, or connected devices, it needs to be operable, understandable, and inclusive for everyone.

To get a better understanding of what that means in practice, especially for media platforms and apps with high traffic and multiple touchpoints, we sat down with Tom van den Berg. Tom leads the accessibility efforts within our media team and has been working across TV, mobile, and web competencies to help clients anticipate the requirements of the EAA and now meet them.

InterviewInterview

Q: What does the European Accessibility Act mean for media applications?

Once the EAA takes effect on June 28, all media applications available to end-users in the EU must meet accessibility standards. That means that anyone, regardless of disability, must be able to use your application without issue. Whether it’s someone who’s hard of hearing, visually impaired, colorblind, or has motor or cognitive limitations, they should be able to navigate and interact with the app just like anyone else.

For media platforms and applications, this typically involves features like subtitles and closed captions, clear contrast, logical navigation, and support for screen readers or voice-over functionality. The most practical framework to follow is WCAG 2.2, part of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Q: Is achieving accessibility more difficult for media apps?

Accessibility on media applications calls for a different approach. These apps often need to work seamlessly across a wide variety of devices, including connected TVs, mobile phones, and the web. The biggest challenge is usually text-to-speech. On web and mobile, there are built-in screen readers that do a lot of the work. On smart TV platforms and connected devices, that support is often missing.

Accessibility implementation on these platforms varies widely depending on the operating system. Some align well with established standards and offer robust support for ARIA labels. Others fall short, lacking key accessibility features. In those cases, we often need to build custom text-to-speech implementations or rely on the Web Speech API to provide a usable experience.

At the same time, media platforms often start from a stronger baseline. Connected TV apps, for instance, are already designed with high contrast, large text, and clear focus indicators in mind. These features are essential for lean-back interfaces and remote-control navigation, but they also improve accessibility. So while the technical work is real, media apps often have a head start.

Q: Regulators across Europe and the US are increasing enforcement with audits and warning letters. How do these affect media applications?

We’re already seeing signs of that enforcement. Samsung, for example, has begun sending developers feedback through their app store’s review process. In some cases, they’ve even requested a formal accessibility statement before allowing an app to go live or publish an update. It’s becoming clear that enforcement isn’t just coming from regulators anymore. Platform vendors are stepping in as well, shifting more of the responsibility to developers and publishers. If you're operating a visible media platform and you're not compliant, it's really only a matter of time before you’re flagged.

Q: With the EAA going into effect soon, what’s the best way for non-compliant media platforms to tackle accessibility?

With the timeline so short, the top priority is clarity. You need to know where your platform stands and what still needs to be addressed. A good first step is to request an audit from an external certification partner.

Thanks to our extensive experience with media applications, we often know where the typical friction points are. That allows us to assess compliance in a matter of days rather than weeks. In most cases, we can give a first indication within one day. Within a week, we will provide a detailed report outlining exactly what needs to be fixed. Depending on the platform and complexity, we usually implement the necessary changes within a few weeks. Once the updates are complete, the formal certification is handled by our strategic partner, Digitaal Toegankelijk.

Getting ready for the European Accessibility Act is more than a legal requirement. It’s an opportunity to make your application better for everyone. With the right audit, the right implementation work, and the right expertise, accessibility becomes part of product quality, not a separate checklist.

If you’re unsure where your platform stands, we’re happy to take a look and figure out the best path forward together.