Obligations for Service Providers.

According to the European Accessibility Act, a service provider is any person or organization that:

• Provides a service in the EU market.
• Is established within an EU country or provides services to consumers within the EU.

Service providers cover many sectors that fall under the scope of the European Accessibility Act, including:

• E-commerce services and websites.
• Banking and financial services.
• Electronic communications services.
• Transport services.
• Audiovisual media services.
• E-book services.

Service providers have specific responsibilities to ensure their services are accessible to people with disabilities. Their main duties include:

• Designing and providing services that meet the accessibility requirements.
• Preparing documentation explaining how their services meet the requirements.
• Providing information about how their services meet accessibility requirements.
• Taking corrective measures when services don't meet the requirements.
• Cooperating with authorities responsible for checking compliance.

Service providers must design and deliver their services to meet the accessibility requirements in Section III of Annex I of the EAA. These requirements include:

• Providing information about how the service works that is accessible through more than one sensory channel.
• Presenting website content in ways that users can perceive, operate, understand, and that work with assistive technologies.
• Making mobile applications accessible to people with disabilities.
• Ensuring electronic identification, security, and payment methods are understandable, perceivable, and operable for people with disabilities.
• Including accessibility practices in service policies.

Different types of services have additional specific requirements, such as:

• Electronic communications services must support real-time text and total conversation services.
• Audiovisual media services must provide accessible program information and ensure accessibility features reach the end user.
• E-books must support text-to-speech and proper navigation features.
• E-commerce services must provide accessibility information about products being sold.

Service providers must prepare and maintain documentation showing how their services meet the accessibility requirements. This documentation should include:

• A general description of the service.
• Information about which accessibility requirements apply to the service.
• An explanation of how the service meets these requirements.
• Evidence of accessibility testing or evaluations.

This documentation must be kept for at least 5 years after the service was last provided. It must be available to authorities upon request.

Service providers must inform the public about the accessibility of their services. This means:

• Explaining which accessibility features are included in the service.
• Describing how people with different disabilities can use the service.
• Providing this information in multiple accessible formats.
• Making the information available to the public on the service provider's website and in other appropriate locations.

This information helps users understand what to expect from the service and how they can best use its accessibility features.

If a service provider discovers their service doesn't meet accessibility requirements, they must:

• Take immediate corrective measures to make the service comply with requirements.
• If the service presents an accessibility risk, inform the relevant national authorities.
• Provide details about the non-compliance and any corrective actions taken.
• Work with authorities to bring the service into compliance.

Service providers should also maintain records of customer complaints about accessibility issues and document how these issues were addressed.

Service providers must cooperate with national authorities responsible for monitoring service accessibility. This includes:

• Providing all information and documentation necessary to prove service compliance.
• Explaining what steps have been taken to meet accessibility requirements.
• Implementing any corrective measures requested by authorities.
• Allowing authorities to evaluate the service, if requested.
• Responding to inquiries in the language of the authority.

This cooperation helps ensure that services throughout the EU maintain appropriate levels of accessibility for people with disabilities.