3. March 2025
Matthias Wagener
The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, once said: “The Web is more of a social creation than a technical one. I designed it for a social effect – to help people work together – and not as a technical toy.”
However, contrary to what is quoted here, in the early days of the Internet, the development of the entire digital spectrum was primarily focused on the buzzwords innovation and disruption – inclusivity seemed secondary.
In other words: The development speed of the digital world was driven by so many parallel business interests that the needs of minorities were not considered. At least not in the majority of new developments, not in software or hardware, let alone in services and social media platforms.
With the founding of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in 1994, the development of a first version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 1.0) began, which received a recommendation status in 1999. This first version of the guidelines focused clearly on technically feasible aspects such as alternative texts for images and structuring of content with HTML. It contained 14 general guidelines, divided into 3 priority levels.
Today, in 2025, a quarter of a century later, we examine the long journey from these first inclusion approaches to the Accessibility Improvement Act (BFSG).
The first version of the WCAG 1.0 was released by the W3C. These guidelines laid the foundation for the barrier-free design of web content.
The Barrierefreie-Informationstechnik-Verordnung (Barrier-Free Information Technology Directive, BITV) came into force in Germany. This directive regulated the barrier-free design of websites for federal public authorities.
WCAG 2.0 was published and updated guidelines for web content accessibility. This version introduced four core principles: Perceivability, Operability, Understandability, and Robustness.
The revision to BITV 2.0 expanded and specified the requirements for barrier-free information technology.
The EU Directive 2016/2102 on accessible websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies was adopted.
WCAG 2.1 was published, adding further requirements for mobile accessibility and for people with cognitive impairments.
BITV 2.0 was adapted to implement the EU Directive 2016/2102 into German law, expanding the requirements for the accessibility of mobile applications.
Based on the European standard for digital accessibility (EN 301 549), the European Accessibility Act (EAA), and WCAG 2.1, the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) was adopted.
The BFSG came into force to implement the requirements of the EAA into German law and to include private companies. Although the law is already in force, there is a transitional period until July 2025. From that point on, private companies will be legally required to design their digital offerings to be barrier-free.
Indeed, there seems to be a lot of movement here – and of course, we’re focusing on German digital offerings for the German “digital space” (“The Internet is uncharted territory for all of us,” Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference with US President Barack Obama, June 2013).
Upon closer inspection: What are the concrete differences between the previous regulations and the new BFSG from June 2025?
The most important point is the scope of application – for whom the rules should apply at all: previous guidelines were aimed at public institutions, at federal authorities and bodies themselves. With the enactment of the BSFG in June 2025, the law now also obliges private sector companies to design certain products and services to be accessible in order to enable all people to participate equally in economic life.
The discrepancy between the original vision of an internet freely accessible to everyone and today’s reality shows that much still needs to be done to create a truly inclusive digital space.
The BFSG is therefore aimed at manufacturers, importers, dealers, and service providers who offer certain products and services to consumers.
It extends to all digital distribution channels: websites, apps, and digital platforms related to the mentioned products and services. They all must be designed in a way that makes them findable, accessible, and usable for people with disabilities – accessible.
People with disabilities encounter various barriers in both the physical and digital worlds.
The BFSG (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz – The Accessibility Improvement Act) formulates specific requirements for the accessibility of web assets that go beyond simple adjustments such as font sizes or colors:
In practical implementation, realizing all necessary aspects means close collaboration between different disciplines: interdisciplinary work with significance for every digital project.
For new developments, BFSG conformity must now be considered from the project start to avoid later, expensive adjustments.
Additionally, there are various tools that support the optimization of existing digital offerings and can be used during the process in new projects to identify errors or implementation gaps:
Automated tests are good – For offerings with high reach and user numbers, it can also go a step further: Whenever possible, content should be tested directly in the creation process by the respective target groups to check the accessibility measures.
In this way, the aforementioned automated tests can be supplemented by user tests to verify technical and practical aspects of accessibility in a real context and to identify optimization possibilities.
Target groups can be respectfully contacted through public calls or direct invitations. This, of course, requires appropriate empathy, openness, and compensation measures.
Test calls should provide orientation on how tests are conducted, why the testers’ opinions are important – and what benefits participation brings. It goes without saying that the well-being and privacy of participants is the top priority of these tests.
Furthermore, there are already certification offerings today that prove BFSG (Accessibility Improvement Act) conformity of digital offerings and products. Even though not officially provided for in the BFSG, TÜV Süd, for example, offers such certification.
It is certainly overdue to make digital spaces and digital business infrastructure more inclusive.
At the same time, implementing the BFSG (Accessibility Improvement Act) for digital projects and future online business can mean adjustments that go far beyond superficial cosmetics, especially for existing websites.
Meaningful optimization approaches must be planned and implemented comprehensively and interdisciplinarily. Even if it seems challenging: only with consistent implementation can we achieve the overdue goal of inclusive digital offerings.
The timeline of development leading up to the BFSG shows how long it takes to make the right to inclusion and accessibility a reality.
The list of aspects requiring change demonstrates the variety of exclusion criteria that have made it difficult for various groups of impaired individuals to access information and communication technologies or have completely excluded them from digital offerings.
When we broaden our horizons and take our responsibility towards our fellow human beings seriously, the development and implementation of this legal obligation appear self-evident – as a responsible contribution to what should be a matter of course: access and participation in the digital world.
