Digital accessibility: Required by law, but often ignored

Digital accessibility Required by law, but often ignored As of: October 29, 2026 • 5:07 a.m

Most websites fail to meet the legally required minimum accessibility standards. This is shown by an analysis by BR Data. The result: People with disabilities often have little or no use of digital offerings.

"So, I can't get any further here now." Melanie Fleischmann sits at her desk in her home office. The browser is open, she presses a key, but nothing happens. The text interpreter is blind and moves through the Internet using voice output and a keyboard.

But several times a week she encounters problems on various websites that cost her a lot of time. Sometimes she can't jump straight to the right link, but has to have the whole page read to her first.

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Since 2020, all websites of public bodies must be barrier-free - just like online shops and booking portals. This means: They must meet certain technical standards, such as color contrast, font size or the display of elements.

BR Data has automatically tested numerous German-language websites for accessibility. These include the home pages of more than 500 websites of public institutions, for example ministries or authorities at the federal level. The test also includes offers from the private sector, in particular around 100 large and popular online shops. The analysis shows: Almost 80 percent of the tested sites violate at least one of the legally specified criteria.

In addition, BR Data evaluated the homepages of almost 1,300 Bavarian cities and communities. The automated test even found barriers on 86 percent of the websites. Some municipal information is only available here. In response to a BR query, the Bavarian Municipal Association writes that it is desirable that as many digital barriers as possible be removed, but also points out the financial challenges for municipalities.

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Accessibility is primarily a cost factor - Katrin Langensiepen does not want to accept this argument. She sits for the Greens in the EU Parliament and makes it clear: Only those who can navigate the internet independently can get information there, use the internet for their job or book a hotel room. In short: shape your own life independently. "We have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Article 9 states that access to information is a human right. We have a very clear legal situation here."

The European Union passed a directive on digital accessibility back in 2016. Member states are therefore obliged to enact laws so that websites and apps of public authorities are designed to be barrier-free. In Germany, this has been implemented in the Disability Equality Act (BGG) since 2018.

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Germany must regularly survey the status of implementation and report it to the EU. The Federal Monitoring Body for Accessibility of Information Technology (BFIT-Bund) is responsible for this. In its most recent report from 2025, it comes to the conclusion: The level of accessibility of websites "did not improve significantly overall and rather worsened for mobile applications" during the reporting period. Not a single government website or app has achieved complete accessibility in accordance with all requirements.

In response to a BR query, the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs said: It remains a challenge for public bodies in Germany to fully meet all accessibility criteria. However, awareness and awareness of digital accessibility among public bodies has increased overall.

However, BR Data's automated analysis shows that there are numerous critical violations of accessibility standards on the tested homepages of public and private providers, which can lead to the site becoming unusable for some people.

Sometimes links are not labeled sufficiently, so blind people don't know where they lead. Sometimes the pages are structured in such a way that people who cannot use a mouse and rely on the keyboard find it difficult to navigate through the page.

"Especially for people with chronic pain, every motor movement can be a great strain. If processes are inefficient, they may not even get to the last menu item where they want to go," says Nina Gerling. She works as an accessibility consultant and advocates for the rights of those affected on the board of the newly founded Barrierenwatch association. The association criticizes that it is often too complicated for people with disabilities to contact the operators of a website to point out the hurdles.

According to the BR analysis, around 80 percent of online shops also violate at least one accessibility criterion. The digital industry association Bitkom tells the BR: “There is still a lot of catching up to do when it comes to digital accessibility.” When asked, it is also said that companies need practical guidelines and legal certainty.

Since last year, companies and those affected have been able to contact the state market surveillance center for accessibility of products and services in Magdeburg. It can impose fines or, in extreme cases, even ban the operation of an online shop.

However, this has not happened yet, the agency writes upon request. However, according to its own information, it was able to remove barriers in almost 300 cases. The Barrierenwatch association offers its own platform so that those affected can find the right office responsible for digital hurdles. Because sometimes even a small change can make the crucial difference.

This topic in the program: tagesschau.de | BR data analysis: Hardly any website without barriers October 29, 2026 | 5:06 a.m