The European Accessibility Gap: Measuring Private Sector Compliance with the EAA Using axe-core

Description

With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) now in force, organizations across Europe face a new challenge: demonstrating compliance with harmonized standards such as EN 301 549 and WCAG 2.2. To understand the real level of readiness, Tech4Access conducted a nationwide study of 204 corporate websites across five major industries in Spain, using Deque’s open-source axe-core library as the foundation for automated testing. The results are revealing — only 2% of sites were fully compliant, and nearly one in four failed essential WCAG success criteria. This session shares the methodology behind the study, the common accessibility gaps identified, and how open testing tools like axe-core can underpin transparent, evidence-based compliance programs. Attendees will gain insights into building governance frameworks that turn accessibility from a regulatory burden into a measurable and auditable process for organizational accountability.