Digital inclusion is good for everyone

Subtitles for videos, keyboard navigation, plain language? When developing an app, a website or online content, accessibility often comes last on the list. Choosing a design that is cool and meeting publishing deadlines is more important to many. But soon, this disregard will no longer be tolerated. The partial revision of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) is due to come into force in 2026, bringing with it a much stricter approach. At the same time, legal developments, such as the introduction of the European Accessibility Act (EAA), are increasing the pressure on organisations and companies in Switzerland.

Accessibility is becoming mandatory

This is leading to some changes, stresses Sarah Ebling, a Professor of Language, Technology and Accessibility at the University of Zurich. From now on, digital services, whether public or private, will have to be accessible to everyone. This also means that companies or organisations that need to retrofit an existing service to make it fully accessible may face significant costs.

The uncertainty and need for information and expertise is accordingly high, which is understandable, says Thomas Gees, who developed a continuing education programme on this subject with Sarah Ebling. Eventually, the new Disability Equality Act will help clarify the matter: “It is no longer about what we ‘can’ do in the field of accessibility, but about ‘doing’ it.”

The PDF file, a prime example

But what do we actually mean by digital accessibility? “We focus on access to digital information and communication, e.g. websites and apps, but also PDFs and Word documents,” sums up Sarah Ebling. This is because a person who is unable to use digital tools due to a sensory impairment is excluded from digital life.

“PDFs that don’t enable navigation with keyboard commands or that can’t be read by a screen reader are a prime example of content that is not fully accessible,” says Thomas Gees. The access for people with a visual impairment, for example, is clearly limited. Overly complicated language can also prevent people with a cognitive impairment or a migration background from making use of resources.

Provider responsibility

The revised DDA will force providers to make their services accessible to all wherever possible. Thomas Gees and Sarah Ebling agree that this is the right thing to do. There is an increase in the use of assistive technologies, which automatically create subtitles for the deaf or descriptions of the surroundings in spoken language for visually impaired people, for example.

At present, however, the quality is not consistently good enough. “Humans are still needed in many areas, because the new AI tools are simply not yet good enough for us to fully rely on them,” stresses Sarah Ebling. A positive aspect for Thomas Gees is that users are learning to help themselves with the new tools. However, both believe that senders of digital information should remove as many barriers as possible.

The economic benefits of going barrier-free

“There’s no point denying the truth: accessibility is expensive,” admits Sarah Ebling. But the costs could be reduced if they were addressed at an early stage in the planning process. Also, accessibility often brings a number of unexpected benefits. Apps will be easier to code, plain language and a good structure will make documents clearer for everyone, and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing will also benefit those who watch videos without sound on the train.

“It’s the curb cut effect,” explains Thomas Gees. Sidewalks with lowered curbs were originally introduced for people in wheelchairs. However, it was later realised that a much wider audience would benefit from this accessibility measure: parents with baby carriages, cyclists, skateboarders and pedestrians checking their feeds while walking, and so forth.

Rethinking and implementing

“We need to rethink accessibility,” explains Sarah Ebling. It is not just about doing something for people with disabilities. Accessibility must enable exchange. After all, this allows society to reach another group of potential specialists, customers and voters. And this in turn benefits everyone – disabled and non-disabled.