For business owners, digital accessibility has officially shifted from a future-road-map item to an urgent liability. Two critical events have made this a core business risk.
In June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) became enforceable. At the same time, in the U.S., digital accessibility lawsuits hit a new peak, more than $200 million in settlements in a single year, and jumping 37% in the first half of 2025 alone compared to the previous year.
If you sell digital products or services to the EU or US, regardless of where your company is based, non-compliance is no longer a theoretical risk. It is a clear and present financial liability.
What Is the Global Standard?
At the center of all global regulations is one standard: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
Think of WCAG as the building code for your website, app, or digital product. It’s a set of technical rules – like using semantic code so screen readers can interact with it or ensuring your site can be used with a keyboard alone.
Most laws, including the EAA and those enforced in U.S. lawsuits, point to WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the benchmark for compliance. However, the newer WCAG 2.2 is what businesses are expected to plan for.
The Global Risk: A Tale of Two Markets
The world’s two largest Western markets enforce these rules in very different, and very costly, ways.
1. The European Union: The “Market Access” Threat
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a market-access law. It mandates that a wide range of products and services sold in the EU must be accessible.
- Who It Affects: Any company (regardless of location) that sells e-commerce, banking services, e-books, computers, operating systems, or smartphones to EU consumers.
- The Deadline: June 28, 2025. This deadline has passed.
- The Risk: This is not a lawsuit risk; it’s a market blockade. National regulators in each EU member state have the power to issue severe fines and, more importantly, block non-compliant products and services from being sold in the EU.
2. The United States: The “Litigation” Threat
The U.S. has no single law like the EAA. Instead, the risk comes from litigation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which courts have consistently applied to websites as “places of public accommodation”.
- Who It Affects: Any public-facing website or app serving U.S. customers is vulnerable. You don’t need to be a US company to be sued, you only need a U.S. user.
- The Risk: A high-volume, “sue-to-settle” legal model.
- Surging Lawsuits: Over 4,200 cases were filed in 2024, and 2025 has seen a 37% increase on top of that.
- Costly Drain: The risk is not a government fine, but tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees and private settlements, which typically range from $5,000 to $75,000 per case.
3. The Domino Effect
While the US and EU are the most immediate financial threats, they are not alone. Similar regulations are tightening globally. The United Kingdom (under the Equality Act), Canada (with the Accessible Canada Act), and Australia (Disability Discrimination Act) all have robust legal frameworks.
Focusing on US and EU compliance now builds the foundation you will need to operate globally.
The 3-Step Action Plan for Compliance
Protecting your business requires a human-led, strategic approach.
- Step 1: Audit Find out where you stand. You need a comprehensive audit that combines automated scanning (which only catches ~30% of issues) with manual testing by a human expert. This expert will test your site using the same assistive technologies (like screen readers) that a plaintiff or user would.
- Step 2: Remediate Fix the issues found in the audit. This involves your developers fixing the underlying code, designers adjusting color contrast, and content creators properly tagging documents and videos. This is not a “one-and-done” fix; it’s about integrating accessibility into your development process.
- Step 3: Maintain & Document Create a public-facing Accessibility Statement. This is a document on your website that states your commitment to accessibility, lists the standards you follow (WCAG 2.1 AA), and provides a contact method for users who encounter a barrier. This statement shows good-faith effort and is a critical piece of legal documentation.
The Trap: Why “Quick-Fix” Overlays Fail
In a panic, many businesses turn to “accessibility overlays” or “AI widgets” (plugins that promise instant WCAG compliance for a low monthly fee). This is the single most dangerous mistake you can make. These tools do not provide legal protection; they are a liability.
- They are cited in lawsuits. Over 1,000 lawsuits in 2024 were filed against companies that were using an overlay. In the first half of 2025, over 450 such lawsuits were filed.
- They don’t fix the code. These tools apply a “band-aid” over your site, but they don’t fix the underlying structural code. Courts have ruled that “simulating” accessibility is not the same as being accessible.
- They often fail users. Many screen reader users report that overlays interfere with their assistive technology, making the website less usable.
True, lasting compliance is not an automated feature. It is a human skill. It requires specialized expertise woven into your entire product lifecycle:
- Accessible UX/UI Designers who understand color contrast and interactive patterns.
- Developers who can write semantic HTML, manage ARIA, and implement platform APIs.
- Document & Content Writers who can meet standards for readability, transcriptions, and PDFs.
- QA Testers & Auditors who can navigate using screen readers and other assistive technologies.
The Solution: Stop Searching, Start Building
The single biggest barrier for most companies in 2025 is not a lack of will, it’s a lack of talent. Finding professionals who are actually certified and vetted in accessibility is incredibly difficult. You can’t risk hiring a developer who claims to know accessibility.
This is where we come in. At Accessial, we remove the guesswork. We are the premier marketplace for certified and vetted accessibility talent. We connect you directly with the expert designers, developers, writers, and auditors you need to get compliant, mitigate your risk, and build better, more inclusive products.
Don’t let your multi-million dollar product be blocked from an entire continent or buried in lawsuits because you couldn’t find the right talent.
Ready to implement accessibility?
We connect companies with accessibility-certified professionals and remediation specialists.
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Accessial – The global hub connecting certified talent and compliant organizations.
