About the accessibility statement
in easy read
Everyone should be able to use websites and apps easily.
This should be the case for everyone.
For example, also for
- blind people.
- deaf people.
- people who cannot move all their fingers.
That's why websites and apps should be accessible.
This text says:
What is an accessibility statement?
And where can you complain?
if a website is not accessible?
if an app is not accessible?
Rules of the law
From 23 September 2020, it has to be like this:
Public bodies need a declaration of accessibility for their websites and apps.
This is set out in EU Directive 2016/2102.
EU directives apply to all countries in the EU.
The countries must turn the directives into their own laws and regulations.
In Germany, the regulation is called BITV 2.0.
Bremen must also comply with this regulation.
What are public sector organisations?
Public bodies work for the administration of a federal state or the federal government.
Public bodies are, for example
- Offices and authorities
- some companies for housing construction
- Schools and some daycare centres
The tax office, for example, is a public body.
Public bodies are also organisations
that almost exclusively receive money from the state.
For example:
- some museums, libraries and theatres
- some swimming pools and sports facilities
The tax office, for example, is a public body.
Public bodies are also organisations
that almost exclusively receive money from the state.
For example:
- some museums, libraries and theatres
- some swimming pools and sports facilities
A supermarket, for example, is not a public body.
What is the accessibility statement?
The accessibility statement is a text.
The text is
on all websites of public bodies
in all apps of public bodies
However, we only ever write: Internet pages.
The accessibility statement says:
How accessible is the website?
Experts can check this.
The public authority can also check this itself.
Are there still barriers on the website?
Then there is a list of barriers in the declaration.
- Perhaps the entire website does not have to be accessible.
So there may be exceptions.
Then there is a list of exceptions in the declaration.
Important:
The public body may not decide on the exceptions itself.
There are strict rules for the exceptions.
The date must also be in the declaration,
when the declaration was made.
Important:
The date must not be older than one year.
The public bodies have to check it every year:
How accessible is our website?
And then they have to make a new accessibility declaration.
Report barriers
You want to use the website.
But you can't,
because there are still barriers?
Then you can complain.
The declaration on accessibility states
where you can complain.
For example:
- with an e-mail
- with a phone call
- with a contact form
You can complain about these things:
There are barriers on the website.
And these barriers are not in the accessibility statement.
You need information from the website,
but the information is not accessible.
For example:
Your computer cannot read out an important PDF file.
The accessibility statement is more than a year old.
The public authority has 2 weeks
to give you an answer.
Will the answer take longer than 2 weeks?
Or does the answer not help you?
Then you can complain to this office:
Zentralstelle für barrierefreie Informationstechnik
Teerhof 59
28199 Bremen
Telephone: 0421 361 181 87
Fax: 0421 496 181 81
E-mail:
The central office will examine your complaint.
The central office then talks to the public authority.
And the central office will give the public body a deadline.
The barriers must be removed by this date.
Does the public body not meet the deadline?
Then an arbitration centre will deal with the dispute.
Important:
You don't have to pay anything for this:
- nothing for the work of the central office
- nothing for the work of the arbitration board
This text is information about the declaration on accessibility.
Because everyone should know
what rights he or she has.
Do you use websites or apps from a public body?
But there are problems with accessibility?
Then also read the accessibility statement
on the website or in the app.
The statement has information on where you can lodge a complaint.
You must first complain to the public authority.
Only then can the central office help you.
You can find the declaration on accessibility from this website here: https://www.leibniz-zmt.de/en/accessibility.html
German text in easy read: © Büro für Leichte Sprache, Lebenshilfe für Menschen mit geistiger Behinderung Bremen e.V., 2020. https://lebenshilfe-bremen.de/angebote/buero-fuer-leichte-sprache/
Contacts