Society. Online shopping made easier for people with disabilities.

Towards a small "revolution" for online shopping for people with disabilities: under new regulations, private companies offering digital services (shopping, booking a ticket, etc.) will have to make them accessible to everyone, including, for example, the visually impaired.

"To pay for a taxi or a ride with a bank card, or to buy a transport ticket, with increasingly common touchscreens, a blind person only feels a smooth window, and no longer touches. We are obliged to give our PIN to the shopkeeper or a companion," explains Bruno Gendron, president of the French Federation of the Blind.

"Selecting products, putting them in a basket, choosing a delivery slot: at each stage, you can find yourself blocked if a box isn't correctly coded," confirms Manuel Pereira, who is in charge of digital accessibility at the Valentin Haüy association, which works to help 70,000 blind and 1.5 million visually impaired people. The worst, he says, is the "Captcha," a mosaic of images designed to prevent automated requests, which asks you to select, for example, motorcycles: impossible for a blind person.

Subtitles, adapted font

Of the 202 e-commerce sites examined by this federation, only four are "fully compliant with legal obligations" for accessibility. This compares to 28 of the 57 banking services analyzed. Under the 2019 European Accessibility Act (EAA), which comes into force in France on Saturday, companies offering goods and services in e-commerce, transportation, banking, telecommunications, audiovisual, and digital books must make them accessible.

However, there are deadlines for certain services and products to comply with regulations, according to the French Fraud Control Agency (DGCCRF). Until now, these obligations applied to government agencies and private companies with annual revenues exceeding €250 million. Companies with fewer than 10 employees and revenues of less than €2 million will be exempt.

Websites and products must be adapted to all disabilities: subtitles for videos for the hearing impaired, simplified language for cognitive disabilities, fonts adapted to "dys" disorders, etc. It will be necessary to allow a visually impaired person or a person with a motor disability to navigate with technical aids (speech synthesis, magnifying glass, etc.) or keyboard shortcuts, and provide a text alternative to images containing information.

"Big challenge"

A "revolution" that will take place in stages, according to Arcom, the digital watchdog. Many sites are not ready. "It's a big challenge. It will be gradual. We will undertake awareness-raising efforts so that all stakeholders and companies concerned (media sites and digital books) understand their obligations and implement them," explains Laurence Pécaut-Rivolier, a member of the Arcom board.

Arcom will be responsible, along with the Fraud Prevention Department, for monitoring the implementation of the regulations. "The e-commerce sector is mobilized, but implementation is complex," confirms Erika Klein, legal director of Fevad (the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling). "This requires a complete redesign of the sites, which represents a significant technical, human, and financial burden."

Experts agree that accessibility features must be integrated into the website design process: it is difficult and expensive to change an existing site. They hope that accessibility will be integrated into the training of digital professionals, who currently receive little training. "Everything won't change overnight, but starting Saturday, individuals and associations will have the opportunity to contact the regulatory authorities to enforce the law," emphasizes Manuel Pereira.