One Year On: The EAA’s Promising Start and the Gaps That Remain

The European Accessibility Act has been in force for one year. In June 2026, regulators, industry, and disability organisations gathered at a BEREC external workshop to take stock. The picture that emerged was one of genuine progress and real, persistent gaps between what the law requires and what people with disabilities can actually access today.

A promising start

All EU Member States have now notified national transposition measures for the EAA — an achievement given that only three had done so by the June 2022 deadline. Regulators are also acting: Sweden’s PTS is reviewing declarations of conformity and handling consumer complaints; Italy’s AGCOM and AgID have issued binding service accessibility guidelines covering all six EAA service categories; Croatia’s HAKOM is focused on emergency service access. Germany and Spain have each set up national coordination bodies to bring coherence to enforcement.

Industry has also adapted. The Mobile & Wireless Forum’s GARI database now covers accessibility features across some 2,000–3,000 devices from more than 40 manufacturers, and operators have published dedicated pages listing benefits and support options for users with disabilities. Connect Europe shared examples from three major European network providers of concrete steps taken to meet EAA obligations.

The gaps are real

Despite this progress, the experience of disabled users tells a different story. Disability organisations at the workshop — the European Disability Forum, the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People, and the European Union of the Deaf — documented significant shortfalls in some areas, such as Relay Services.

A survey by EFHOH and EUD found that the majority of video and text relay services across Member States are not available around the clock, interoperability between services is very limited, and cross-border access is nearly absent. Access to the emergency number 112 through relay services is inconsistent. At the time of the workshop, only Sweden and Ireland had fully implemented real-time text (RTT) access to emergency services.

Enforcement is also fragmented. A Cullen International survey of 12 EU countries found that up to 40 separate authorities across those countries were involved in EAA implementation. The European Commission identified remaining transposition gaps in nine Member States as recently as January 2026, with 14 infringement proceedings still ongoing. The six harmonised standards needed to specify EAA requirements in detail have not yet been finalised, leaving some compliance decisions to individual interpretation.

Industry has called for clearer guidance. Fragmented enforcement , in particular diverging information requests from multiple national authorities, adds compliance cost without proportionate benefit, and the absence of a harmonised European reporting format makes it harder for manufacturers to demonstrate what they have done. The MWF cautioned that even once standards are finalised, a reasonable transition period is needed for products already in development.

The questions that still need answers

The workshop surfaced a number of substantive questions that have not yet been resolved:

Standards: When will the harmonised standards be finalised, and how will regulators assess compliance in the interim?

RTT and relay services: There are still questions on whether RTT meet the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing users as a replacement for text-based relay services and how long should legacy systems run in parallel?

Emergency communications: When will Member States beyond Sweden and Ireland implement RTT access to emergency services?

Consistent interpretation: How will divergent legal interpretations across Member States be addressed, and what role will the EAA expert group play?

The Digital Networks Act: Will ongoing negotiations strengthen disability-specific protections, or will full harmonisation wind back existing Member State provisions?

Cross-border enforcement: How will compliance be coordinated where obligations span multiple national authorities?

Further reading

For more information on accessible devices and GARI database: www.gari.info

BEREC external workshop on accessibility: https://www.berec.europa.eu/en/events/berec-external-workshop-on-accessibility-of-electronic-communications-services 

GARI 2025: Bridging the Gap Between Accessibility Regulations and Real-World Devices

This article explores GARI’s 2025 achievements, its role in the implementation of the European Accessibility Act (EAA), and what’s next for digital accessibility.

GARI’s Mission: From Voluntary Effort to Legal Requirement

In 2025, the Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) evolved in parallel to the European Accessibility Act (EAA) transitioning from transposition into national law to practical implementation. GARI’s core mission has always been to provide clear, reliable, and comprehensive information on device accessibility to help consumers select devices that work for them. What started as a voluntary push for better information to the consumer has become a firm requirement under the EAA. The GARI annual report provides an overview on growth and progress of the project in 2025. 

2025 Milestones: Expanding Features, Languages, and Partnerships

The Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) is a project of the Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF) dedicated to providing centralized, transparent information about the accessibility features of digital devices. Since its creation in 2008, GARI has grown to provide information on the accessibility of over 2,750+ devices, including mobile phones, tablets, smart TVs and Wearables. The database is free to use, available online in currently 21 languages and is used by governments, user organisations, telecom providers and many other stakeholders around the world.

Several international network providers and industry bodies in 10 countries are using GARI to train their staff on how to search for appropriate devices to meet consumer needs, or to provide information on mobile accessibility to their clients and constituencies. Several more network providers use GARI for the selection of accessible devices for their product portfolio.

GARI also partners directly with the disability community, governments and regulatory authorities, app developers, ITU, G3ict, health platforms, occupational therapists, industry, network providers, consumer organisations, universities and AT platforms.

In 2025, the MWF completed the implementation and translation of 36 new device features suggested in the 7th GARI feature review. These included features for hearing & speech, cognition & usability, vision, dexterity & touch, health & safety, and connectivity. They complete the list of almost 200 device accessibility features listed in GARI, making the GARI database the most comprehensive source of information on device accessibility. 

The MWF also continued the videos series explaining where to locate accessibility features in the device, how to activate them and how to deactivate them. In 2025, these videos covered real-time text, emergency SOS, setting safe listening levels, live captioning, live translation and more.

The European Accessibility Act: How GARI Helps Manufacturers and Consumers

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into force in June 2025 and prescribes a list of accessibility requirements for most ICT devices and related services. The MWF matched these requirements to the actual features in the mobile phones, tablets, Wearables and smart TVs listed in the GARI database. The intention is to help manufacturers report on how their devices fulfil the requirements under the EAA, as well as to provide consumers with an understanding of what kinds of features the requirements in the Act translate into.

What’s Next? GARI’s Priorities for 2026

GARI’s priorities for 2026 include deepening engagement with EU market surveillance authorities as EAA enforcement matures, continuing to close the timing gap between regulation and harmonised standards, and expanding the GARI platform’s reach into new regions – particularly in Asia and Africa where regulatory interest is growing.

On the platform side, the MWF will continue expanding feature video coverage, explore further integrations with network provider and retailer platforms, and work with the disability community on the next feature review cycle. Strengthening GARI’s role as the central hub for accessibility information – for manufacturers, regulators and consumers alike – remains the core objective.

Resources

Explore the GARI database to find devices that meet your accessibility needs: https://www.gari.info/ 

Download the full 2025 Annual Report

Are you a manufacturer or regulator? Contact GARI to learn how to integrate accessibility features into your products. 

European Accessibility Act – what happens on 28 June?

On 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) enters into force. This means that mobile phones, tablets, laptops, Smart TVs and similar devices that come new onto the European market, as well as the associated services, must fulfill the accessibility requirements laid out in the Act. 

For example, every new mobile phone will have to provide “alternatives to vision, auditory, speech and tactile elements” for communication. That means it needs to have built-in a screen reader that allows blind users to operate the device, captions or subtitles for phone calls and video content, text-to-speech functionality and voice control, to name just four features that help fulfil these requirements. 

For Smart TVs, the Act also sets out a set of accessibility features for the user interface and underlines that they “shall make available to persons with disabilities the accessibility components provided by the audiovisual media service provider”, including captions for web video and broadcast formats, spoken subtitels, audio and video guides for low-vision users, zoom on sign language window and more. 

Many of the ICT devices on the market today already provide a wide range of accessibility features. The GARI database (www.gari.info) lists over 200 such features and allows users to find a device with the features that they need. 

However, two new aspects are introduced by the EAA: the requirement for accessible information on accessibility features and the accessibility of support services. And while the necessary standards on the technical requirements for hardware and software are now in draft form, the standards intended to give guidance on how to implement the accessibility requirements for information and support services are only just beginning to be developed. 

Regardless, the requirements need to be fulfilled from 28 June 2025 onwards, so with the harmonised standards and the guidance on how to implement them still under development, we might see various approaches being used to show compliance in the short term.

Nonetheless, the European Accessibility Act enshrines accessibility for ICT devices and services in European law and will bring great advances in information on accessibility features, helping to make consumers with and without disabilities better aware of existing solutions that might help and support them in their daily lives. 

Have a look at the GARI database, learn about the 200+ available accessibility features and about the features in your own device: https://www.gari.info 

Looking Back and Moving Forward: How far have we come in 20 years with mobile accessibility?

The history of accessible technology and in particular mobile phones offers a case study in how these devices have made a significant difference in the lives of people with disabilities and older users. Just a few weeks in advance of #GAAD2024, the publication of Vol. 18 of the ATOP Journal provides a review of more than 20 years of mobile technology development, exploring how the three-pronged approach of policy initiatives, industry efforts, and end-user advocacy resulted in a wide range of accessibility features.

 

For its 20th anniversary, the Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits (ATOB) Journal dedicated the 2024 issue to "Looking Back and Moving Forward: 20 Years of Assistive Technology Outcomes and Benefits.” This was a good opportunity to explore the history of accessible devices , from mobile phones and tablets through to smartwatches, and how these devices have become both accessible and assistive. 

 

Under the title “Accessible Mobile Phones: Bridging the Gap in AT Provision and Service Delivery”, the MWF, with the support of David Banes, highlights how mobile technology has been at the forefront of improving communications and access to digital content for people with a disability for well over 20 years.

 

Legislation such as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (1998) and the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA, 2010) in the US certainly spurred developments along, particularly in the US. But device manufacturers had already started including features to help people with disabilities and older users with the use of the devices well before this. 

 

As the range of accessibility features and third-party enhancements (mobile apps and compatible assistive technology) expanded and evolved, it became essential to better inform users about the available options and solutions. While some countries had national requirements for information provision for those with disabilities, it was not until the creation of the Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI) in 2008 by the Mobile & Wireless Forum (MWF) that one comprehensive and global information source on the available accessibility features within mobile phones was established. GARI is still the central source of information helping consumers find accessible devices on the market. 

 

Today's smartphones include accessibility features that can complement—and in many cases, replace— specialized assistive technology (AT). Once separate, and often expensive, technology such as screen-readers, screen loops, speech-to-text programs, or alternative augmented communication (AAC) are now effectively all within a typical smartphone. Over the past decade in particular, the design of products that empower people with a disability has shifted from these specialized and dedicated products to features and functions that are designed for the use and benefit of all. 

 

Despite the advances on the technology front, the one element that still needs further attention is the lack of official recognition that accessible consumer electronics can replace the need for separate specialized equipment. Assistive programs in many countries still shun accessible consumer products such as smartphones, when that one device can provide so many features and is attractive and usable by everyone. 

 

So how far have we come on mobile accessibility in 20 years? It’s fair to say a long way. And with legislation like the European Accessibility Act, that will cement the need for accessibility to be a key design factor right from the beginning, the  greatest need now is to focus on informing consumers about the large variety of features that already exist and how to get started using those functionalities. 

 

For the full story of mobile accessibility development and a detailed discussion, we invite you to have a look at the paper “Accessible Mobile Phones: Bridging the Gap in AT Provision and Service Delivery”. The ATOP Journal is open access and you can download it for free following this link: https://www.atia.org/atobcurrentvolume/

 

 

The ATOP Journal was launched by the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) in 2004 in an effort to advance the assistive technology (AT) field and highlight new information on the outcomes and benefits of AT for persons with disabilities. ATOB is a leading, open access, peer-reviewed journal in the field of AT.

 

What are the difficult questions that we avoid asking? M-Enabling Summit 2023

"I worry that we have failed to effectively quantify the importance of having disabled people in every single space ... representation is incredibly impactful; there is so much reciprocity between disabled and non-disabled people negotiating and navigating spaces and processes together. There is value here that makes asking these questions worthwhile!"

The 2023 M-Enabling Summit will explore "AI and Digital Transformation: New Paradigms for Accessibility and Inclusion Strategies". In the run-up to the conference, one of the Summit speakers, Julie Eshleman, has agreed to share some of here insights from behaviour science to help people with disabilities the life they want and her expectations for the Summit. 

Julie is a behavior scientist and researcher with 20 years of experience working in the disability sector, helping make more spaces work better in more ways for more people. She applies behavior science to the systems where people need to thrive but might not be - this way she helps organizations plan and implement impactful policy and process changes so that more people are happy and successful. 

Q1: You are investigating how people with disabilities use technology to build the lives and experiences they want. What lead you to this field? And what are common misconceptions you encounter in this field? 

Julie: I started in this field because I have been working with disabled people for a long time, and began to feel a little uncomfortable with my relationship to how I was supporting people as a practitioner. Because of the kinds of activities that qualify as 'billable time', many clinicians struggle with the idea that the person in need of support is 'broken' and in need of 'fixing' - I felt like a better focus and use of my time was not on supporting disabled people individually but working with large organizations to make more policies and processes just work better for more people, and to create systems where more people can thrive and be successful. I think the most common misconception I encounter is that there are 'tech users' and 'tech experts' - these two groups overlap a lot more than we think, and we are just learning to include disabled tech users as the most important stakeholder group not only as consumers, but as designers, researchers, and practitioners. There isn't only one kind of expert in this space! 

Q2: Consumer electronics such as mobile phones, tablets and wearables are integrating more and more functionalities that help people with disabilities use the devices as well as access content and control the environment. How would you define the distinction between accessibility features and assistive features, and is this distinction even helpful? 

Julie: I tend to find that 'accessibility features' are features built in to consumer devices and software to make them easier to use for everyone (including disabled people), like adjustable font size and contrast, speech-to-text and text-to-speech, and live captioning. 'Assistive features' are more likely to be external devices or software applications to target specific kinds of compatible devices potentially needed for people with disabilities or impairments, and may include things like switch access for people with limited mobility, hearing aids for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, tactile input from prosthetics... The distinction between these two concepts may be helpful in terms of advocating for more inclusive designs of technology. There are a lot of examples on how both of these concepts are already being integrated into consumer electronics like smartphones being equipped with accessibility features like adjustable font size and contrast, screen readers, and speech to text; along with smartphone assistive features such as switch access and Braille displays. Ultimately, I think the goal is to find terms that encourage designers and manufacturers to make consumer devices that are as accessible as possible so that any consumer can get the most out of each device. Whether we call it accessibility or assistive, products that are more customizable and cooperate with other devices well will reach a wider market and have increased sales, so it is frankly just smart business. 

Q3: What are the difficult questions that we avoid asking when discussing how to facilitate access for people with disabilities to the workplace, education, social and public life? 

Julie: I think my questions are more closely related to disability and stigma associated with it - questions like "how do we balance the support needs of an individual with the needs of society as a whole? How do we find the synthesis between what works better for disabled people and what works better for everyone? How can we make sure disabled people have the same opportunities as non-disabled people? How can we build spaces that support positive changes in attitudes and perceptions toward disability and disabled people? How can we make sure disabled people have a LOUD voice in decision-making? Are we using these assistive technology tools to build the kind of life this person deserves? It is easy for experts (myself included!), or assistive technology professionals, or voc rehab therapists, or researchers to know what we are working towards: increased functionality, improved independence, more control and autonomy, better employment outcomes... but we aren't often reflective enough to think about what kind of life this disabled person wants to have and deserves. These ideas are often governed by what is funded - what technologies can this person afford?, what does their insurance cover?, what is this funding source willing to provide?... It is so easy to lose sight of the fact that our expectations are sometimes VERY LOW for what kind of quality, daily existence someone not only deserves to have but deserves to be supported to achieve. We get caught up in the process of finding and providing supports, and have to keep coming back to 'am I helping to build the kind of daily life this person deserves to enjoy? Am I finding tools to build the right experiences for this person and their family?' I worry that we have failed to effectively quantify the importance of having disabled people in every single space ... representation is incredibly impactful; there is so much reciprocity between disabled and non-disabled people negotiating and navigating spaces and processes together. There is value here that makes asking these questions worthwhile!

Q4: What are your expectations for the M-Enabling Summit and what would make your visit to the conference a success? 

Julie: I am anxious to hear about what different people and organizations are working on - M-Enabling pulls in such an impressive group of thought leaders and status-quo challengers. I enjoy hearing all of the different ways people are shaking things up in their organizations and sectors. I always leave M-Enabling with so many people to connect with on LinkedIn so I can keep following advancements and great work in the field. My conference visit will be a success when I learn about the work high-profile organizations are doing that are responsive to connections they have made at M-Enabling. Seeing these talks and networking conversations turn into collaborative actions by attendees is the most satisfying part of participating in M-Enabling! 

Julie's most recent work has been as a consulting researcher for a charity in the UK, Leonard Cheshire, helping to deliver assistive technology and understand the conditions under which people get the best use of their (assistive) technologies so that we can plan for organization-wide delivery. For any additional details, visit her LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julieeshlemanatresearcher/

Link to the M-Enabling Summit: https://m-enabling.com/  

Many new accessibility features and a big Thank You!

150 organisations from over 40 countries were invited to participate in the  6^th GARI feature review and helped shape the list of accessibility features we report on. Below, we summarise the key changes that resulted from this review. 

Every two years, we review GARI’s reporting framework against the latest technology and to ensure that the features are what people are looking for. In our 6^th review cycle, we invited 150 organisations from over 40 countries to provide feedback. We received feedback from stakeholders in Austria, Australia, Belgium , Canada, the Czech Republic, the EU, France, Germany, Ireland , Israel,  Lithuania, Mexico , Norway Slovenia , Sweden, the UK and the US. 

 

A big THANK YOU to all the organisations and experts who have taken the time to review GARI and provide us with feedback and concrete suggestions!

Proposed structural changes

 

Over the past 15 years, the database and website have grown, providing information on new product groups and additional information such as feature guides and short tutorials. The technology we report on has also progressed rapidly. Hence it is time to review the structure in which we present this information. 

 

For instance, in the beginning, there were barely any features that helped users with speech impairments, so Hearing/Speech features were combined in one only category. These two will be separated out, and users will have an easier time to search for hearing related or speech related features in the database. 

 

The same goes for feature phones versus smartphones. Ten years ago, many smartphones still had buttons or a physical keyboard and shared many form factors with feature phones. They will now be listed separately. 

 

New features 

 

The key changes are in the list of new features that you will find in the database and that will help identify devices that work for users with specific requirements. These include, 

- for mobile phones: 

• Audio Streaming to Hearing-Aid (ASHA): Device allows direct Bluetooth streaming to hearing aids or cochlear implant.
• Live transcription / captions: Does the device enable embedded live transcription or captioning features for audio, video and telephone calls?
• Sound quality adjustable: Allows users to configure or customize specific audio parameters by allowing to adjust frequencies and sound from the device.
• Safe audio: The device’s average sound level is set to a limit of 85 dB(A). The user retains the possibility to raise the sound level to a maximum of 100 dB(A). In this case the user is warned about the risks involved, by means of a warning after every 20 hours of listening time.
• Total conversation capability: The device supports Real-Time-Text communication in video calls suitable for sign language communication, provided the network supports this feature.
• Recognition of atypical speech patterns: The device’s voice processing is capable of being trained to recognize atypical speech patterns and allows for speech-to-text with atypical speech patterns.
• Highlight content as it is spoken: Does the device allow to highlight content to have it read aloud? 
• HD Audio: Does the device support High Definition (HD) Audio? 
• Closed captions adjustable: Allows to adjust font style and size of closed captions.
• Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA): Is the device capable of receiving messages from the US Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system?  (North America Only)
• Compatible with automotive infotainment systems: Which of the automotive infotainment systems is the device compatible with? 
• Air gestures to control the device: You can use gestures in close proximity to the device to initiate specific phone actions.
• Facial gestures to control the device: You can use facial gestures to navigate your device, incl. open mouth, smile, raise eyebrow, look left, look right, look up to initiate specific phone actions. 
• Device size: (length width depth)
• Headphone jack: Does the device have a 3.5 mm headphone jack?
• Screen refresh rate adjustable: Allows to adjust the screen refresh rate in the range of 60 Hz to 120 Hz. A higher refresh rate can make motion appear smoother and can remove afterimages from fast-moving images.
• Eye tracking: Does the device support eye tracking for navigation and action control? 
• Display Characteristics - Enhance screen colour: Does the device allow to adjust the display colour to your preferences? 
• Assistive touch: Can the user replace physical buttons or gestures with virtual buttons? 
• Focus mode: Helps reduce distractions by muting notifications and in-coming calls while focusing on one task.
• Manufacturer guaranteed years of software support for device model: Number of years that the manufacturer provides software updates for the device after putting it onto the market. 
• Manufacturer guaranteed years of security updates for device model: Number of years that the manufacturer provides security updates for the device after putting it onto the market.

- for Smart TVs: 

• Zoom in on a sign language window: Does the device allow to zoom in on the sign language video? 
• Closed sign language display: The device allows for closed sign language interpretation (graphic or picture in picture).
• Positioning of closed captions adjustable: Does the device allow to change the positioning of the closed captions on the screen? 
• Closed captions adjustable: Allows to adjust font and size of closed captions.
• Dual output (headset and normal output): Allows users to control the volume of the audio directed to the assistive listening device, independently from the main audio output.
• Independent volume control for assistive listening devices: Allows hard of hearing users to use headset jack to connect streaming device to allow them to control the volume, while the rest of the family can continue enjoying listening experience without having raised volume.
• Shortcut to accessibility menu: Does the device have a shortcut to reach the accessibility menu in three steps or less? 
• Remote control using infrared: Does the device’s delivered with remote control use infrared to connect with the Smart TV?
• Remote control using radio-frequencies (RF): Does the device’s delivered with remote control use radio-frequencies for connecting with the Smart TV?
• Remote control using mixed IR / RF: Does the device’s delivered with remote control use a mixture of infrared and radio to connect with the Smart TV?
• Voice assistant: Does the device have a voice assistant built-in?
• Device operating system
• Standard formats for the region’s subtitles and captioning for web and broadcasting supported: Standard formats are content provider dependent. The device supports the standards formats for the region’s subtitles and captioning for web and broadcasting.
• Support of HbbTV: The device supports a version of the HbbTV software application stack.
• Spoken Subtitles – Broadcast: Reads out the subtitles on broadcast content appearing on the screen.
• Spoken Subtitles – On demand: Reads out the subtitles on on-demand content appearing on the screen.
• Receives free-to-air broadcast: Receives free to air broadcast via external Aerial or Satellite Dish.
• Remote control audio tour: Audibly describes the button layout of the remote control to help users with sight loss learn where the buttons are.
• Screen magnifier: Does the screen magnifier enlarge all views, including the web?
• Key Feedback – Audible: When you press a key, the TV makes a sound to feed back that the keypress has been recognized. 

These new features have already been added to the English version of GARI and will be added in the 19 other language versions progressively over the coming weeks. 

There was also very strong support to use the GARI platform as a central source of information on accessible devices and to extend the database to new product categories. 

Again, a big thank you to all who have provided input and to everyone supporting the GARI project! 

Finding accessibility features in your devices – our short video guides

GARI is an online database helping people find accessible devices. Following user requests, the MWF has started a series of short videos showing how to find the accessibility features in devices and how to activate them. 

The Global Accessibility Reporting Initiative (GARI, www.gari.info) is an online database in 20 languages. It contains information on over 1,500 current mobile phones, tablets, Wearables and Smart TVs. Visitors to the website can search for specific features – for example looking up devices that have a screen reader or allowing a higher level of volume control for people who already experience hearing loss. 

The GARI website is constantly evolving based on feedback from the disability community, accessibility experts and the latest technological developments. In response to requests for more information on how to find the accessibility features within devices and how to activate them, the MWF started a series of short videos explaining these steps on Android and iOS devices. 

Currently, there are 47 videos on the GARI YouTube channel, which include explanations on features such as Noise Cancellation, Adaptive Sound, Invert Colours and many more: https://www.youtube.com/@gari5957. Subscribe today to follow the channel and learn when new videos are released.