Newsletter
The magic of large numbers
Issue 04-2025
Mit Domingos de Oliveira (netz-barrierefrei.de):
Large-scale data collection on digital accessibility is constantly being conducted: thousands of websites with tens of thousands of errors, 99 percent not accessible, and so on. The figures may be accurate, but critical analysis is lacking. This brief overview aims to provide that analysis:
- These are automated testing tools that produce many false positives and false negatives. That's acceptable, however, a description of the methodology and a critical evaluation are lacking.
- The survey is usually not conducted to gain knowledge, but rather for self-promotion. This can be legitimate, but marketing tends to focus on producing large numbers that rarely yield meaningful insights.
- The information is of limited value. Formal accessibility and usability by disabled people are not always the same, but this is often suggested due to ignorance or for PR purposes.
Interesting articles
Casey Kreer talks about what it's like to work in digital accessibility as a disabled person.
Interview with Casey Kreer about working as a disabled Accessibility Consultant
This article provides some answers to the elephant in the room, the Accessibility Strengthening Act.
Answers regarding the Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG)
On May 15th, there will be a free event on digital accessibility with several presentations. The occasion is Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
The Federal Agency for Accessibility has published an FAQ on the BFSG specifically for banking services.
FAQ on the BFSG – Banking services for consumers
This article shows how new technologies such as AI and VR contribute to greater accessibility.
Accessibility 2.0: How digital innovations should make the world accessible to everyone
The German Federal Government has presented its latest report on the accessibility of public institutions. There is little improvement compared to the last report.
Periodic monitoring of compliance with accessibility requirements for websites and mobile devices
Moving on to English: WebAIM has published a survey on salaries for accessibility professionals, but it also includes people working on assistive technologies. This likely explains the very high proportion of
Disabled people in the statistics.Global Digital Accessibility Salary Survey
What is the cost of exclusion? This is the question posed in Deque's article.
Digital accessibility and the cost of exclusion
This document shows how roles and responsibilities are distributed in digital accessibility.
DRAFT Accessibility Roles and Responsibilities Mapping (ARRM)
Not new, but interesting: there is a standard for universal design – unfortunately, it is very expensive.
Are you unprepared for the BFSG (Federal Law on the Protection of Employees)? Then you're not in good company. According to Storyblok, 75 percent of companies are not yet fully prepared for the BFSG. Unfortunately, the methodology isn't described, but it appears to be a survey of senior-level employees.
75% of Businesses Unprepared For European Accessibility Act
This article describes how accessibility requirements can be integrated into the organization.
Building accessibility habits in your organization
Good news of the month
The DIN Spec for Plain Language has been published and, unlike the DIN standards, is even available for free download.
Apparently, the first trainee has completed his training as an accessibility expert.
Met Office employee becomes world's first digital accessibility apprenticeship graduate
A brain-computer interface is combined with NVIDIA's AI.
Synchron's Brain-Computer Interface Now Has Nvidia's AI
The American Blind Association is supporting the national football association in improving the game experience for blind and visually impaired fans.
The American Council of the Blind to Provide Advisory Services to the National Football League
MIT presents an idea to make graphs and curve progressions more accessible to blind people.
A new way to make graphs more accessible to blind and low-vision readers
It should become easier for gamers with disabilities to find games with accessibility options.
Game companies will standardize accessibility labels on storefronts and product pages
A cosmetics company wants to make makeup more accessible.
Tilt Beauty launches accessible makeup packaging with inclusive design
This article also deals with cosmetic companies that are working on improving product accessibility.
The beauty brands that are paving the way for disability inclusivity through their packaging