Government websites more accessible for persons with a disability

The European Parliament has approved new legislation that will ensure that persons with a disability have easier access to the internet, in particular websites of government services. “An important step forwards,” says MEP Anneleen Van Bossuyt, who took part in the negotiations on the legislation.

“Persons with a disability often experience difficulties, for example when they visit the municipality website to find out on what day the rubbish is collected or if they want to look up the address of the closest school or hospital. Everybody should be able to find necessary everyday information on the internet,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt says. Her colleague Helga Stevens, who is herself deaf, agrees: “Unfortunately, many videos do not have subtitles. People who are deaf and can’t lip-read have no idea what is being said. At least for important messages I think it is only logical to provide subtitles.”

Expansion to apps

The new legislation requires government departments to endeavour to make their websites more accessible. But in addition to websites, apps must be made more accessible too. “Today, more and more people use their phone or tablet to browse the internet. I argued hard at the European Parliament for the expansion to apps,” says Anneleen Van Bossuyt.

She thinks the legislation has now found a balance between improving accessibility and avoiding overly high costs. “After all, accessibility comes at a price,” she warns. “A small village school will often simply not have the funds to make the entire website accessible. Under this legislation, it will only have to do so for necessary information, such as contact information and application forms.” People wanting to view more information can use an “on request” system. Anneleen Van Bossuyt gives an example. “It would be absurd to require a museum to make all of its archives accessible. But a history student who wants to view a specific document from the archive can always make a request to do so, as long as that request is justified.”