The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)'s Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) is an effort to improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web for people with disabilities. People with disabilities encounter difficulties when using computers generally, but also on the Web. Since they often require non-standard devices and browsers, making websites more accessible also benefits a wide range of user agents and devices, including mobile devices, which have limited resources. According to a US government study, 71% of website visitors with disabilities will leave a website that is not accessible.
The Data Protection Directive, officially Directive 95/46/EC, enacted in October 1995, was a European Union directive which regulated the processing of personal data within the European Union (EU) and the free movement of such data. The Data Protection Directive was an important component of EU privacy and human rights law.
Accessibility is the design of products, devices, services, vehicles, or environments so as to be usable by people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design and practice of accessible developments ensures both "direct access" and "indirect access" meaning compatibility with a person's assistive technology.
Web accessibility, or eAccessibility, is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, more users have equal access to information and functionality.
The Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology is a Directorate-General of the European Commission and is responsible for European Union investment in research, innovation and development of critical digital technologies.
Data retention defines the policies of persistent data and records management for meeting legal and business data archival requirements. Although sometimes interchangeable, it is not to be confused with the Data Protection Act 1998.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are part of a series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet. They are a set of recommendations for making Web content more accessible, primarily for people with disabilities—but also for all user agents, including highly limited devices, such as mobile phones. WCAG 2.0 was published in December 2008 and became an ISO standard, ISO/IEC 40500:2012 in October 2012. WCAG 2.2 became a W3C Recommendation on 5 October 2023.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) is an independent supervisory authority whose primary objective is to monitor and ensure that European institutions and bodies respect the right to privacy and data protection when they process personal data and develop new policies.
The Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2, Directive (EU) 2015/2366, which replaced the Payment Services Directive (PSD), Directive 2007/64/EC) is an EU Directive, administered by the European Commission (Directorate General Internal Market) to regulate payment services and payment service providers throughout the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA). The PSD's purpose was to increase pan-European competition and participation in the payments industry also from non-banks, and to provide for a level playing field by harmonizing consumer protection and the rights and obligations of payment providers and users. The key objectives of the PSD2 directive are creating a more integrated European payments market, making payments more secure and protecting consumers.
In European Union law, transposition is a process by which the European Union's member states give force to a directive by passing appropriate implementation measures. Transposition is typically done by either primary legislation or secondary legislation.
The European Regulators' Group for Electricity and Gas (ERGEG) was an advisory group to the European Commission on internal energy market issues in Europe. ERGEG was set up by the European Commission to assist the commission in consolidating a single EU market for electricity and gas. ERGEG's members were the heads of the national energy regulatory authorities in the EU's 28 Member States. It was dissolved in 2011 when Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) took over its responsibilities.
The Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 1991 European Union directive concerning urban waste water "collection, treatment and discharge of urban waste water and the treatment and discharge of waste water from certain industrial sectors". It aims "to protect the environment from adverse effects of waste water discharges from cities and "certain industrial sectors". Council Directive 91/271/EEC on Urban Wastewater Treatment was adopted on 21 May 1991, amended by the Commission Directive 98/15/EC.
Design for All in the context of information and communications technology (ICT) is the conscious and systematic effort to proactively apply principles, methods and tools to promote universal design in computer-related technologies, including Internet-based technologies, thus avoiding the need for a posteriori adaptations, or specialised design.
The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) is the body in which the regulators of the telecommunications markets in the European Union work together. Other participants include representatives of the European Commission, as well as telecommunication regulators from the member states of the EEA and of states that are in the process of joining the EU.
Directive 2003/98/EC on the re-use of public sector information, known as the PSI Directive, now called the Open Data Directive, is an EU directive that stipulates minimum requirements for EU member states regarding making public sector information available for re-use. This directive provides a common legislative framework for this area. The Directive is an attempt to remove barriers that hinder the re-use of public sector information throughout the Union.
On April 21, 2021 data.europa.eu was launched as a single access point for open data published by EU Institutions, national portals of EU Member states and non-member states, as well as international organisations of predominantly European scope. The portal consolidates datasets previously available via the EU Open Data Portal and the European Data Portal into a single meta-catalogue. The European Data Portal, launched in its beta version on November 16, 2015, was an initiative of the European Commission, and part of the Digital Single Market.
The Energy Efficiency Directive 2012/27/EU is a European Union directive which mandates energy efficiency improvements within the European Union. It was approved on 25 October 2012 and entered into force on 4 December 2012. The directive introduces legally binding measures to encourage efforts to use energy more efficiently in all stages and sectors of the supply chain. It establishes a common framework for the promotion of energy efficiency within the EU in order to meet its energy efficiency headline target of 20% by 2020. It also paves the way for further improvements thereafter.
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 is a disability law passed by the Parliament of India to fulfill its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by India in 2007. The Act replaces the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.
The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is a directive of the European Union (EU) which took effect in April 2019. This directive aims to improve the trade between members of the EU for accessible products and services, by removing country specific rules. Businesses benefit from having a common set of rules within the EU, which should facilitate easier cross-border trade. It should also allow a greater market for companies providing accessible products and services. Persons with disabilities and elderly people will benefit from having more accessible products and services in the market. An increased market size should produce more competitive prices. There should be fewer barriers within the EU and more job opportunities as well.
EN 301 549 is a European standard that supports the development of digital best practices for everyone, including people with disabilities. It's like a checklist for digital accessibility that creators use to make sure their technology is easy for everyone to use. It specifies requirements for information and communications technology to be accessible for people with disabilities. For the web, the latest version, EN 301 549 v 3.2.1 includes the full text of WCAG 2.1 AA.
