What Is Digital Accessibility? Examples, Laws & Standards

Digital accessibility aims to ensure that websites, mobile apps, documents, media, kiosks, and other digital products can be perceived, operated, and understood by people with disabilities using assistive technologies such as screen readers, captions, keyboards, and switch controls. It is broader than web accessibility and is generally guided by WCAG 2.2’s principles of being perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust, with Level AA commonly serving as the compliance target. Requirements vary by surface and jurisdiction, including ADA Title II for U.S. state and local governments, Section 508 for federal agencies and their technology procurement, the European Accessibility Act for covered EU products and services, and AODA in Ontario. Common barriers include missing image descriptions or form labels, poor color contrast, inaccessible PDFs, absent captions, mouse-dependent controls, and touch-only kiosks. Effective testing combines automated scans, which can identify detectable issues such as low contrast and unlabeled fields, with manual keyboard, screen reader, zoom, reflow, document, and media testing to uncover usability barriers automation cannot assess. The guide recommends inventorying all digital surfaces, identifying applicable legal standards, and prioritizing accessibility reviews of the most frequently used user flows.

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