In this blog, you will read about:

• What has really changed one year after the EAA came into force
• Why accessibility still goes beyond legal compliance
• The biggest barriers organisations continue to face
• How accessibility impacts real digital experiences
• What companies still need to do to build genuine inclusion

When the European Accessibility Act (EAA) officially came into force in June 2025, the expectation was clear: to make the European digital environment more accessible, more inclusive and better prepared to support people with different access needs.

One year later, the question is less  “what is the EAA?” and more “what has really changed?”.

Increased awareness, but uneven progress

The latest data from AbilityNet’s Attitudes to Digital Accessibility 2025 report paints an interesting picture.

Awareness around digital accessibility has increased, the subject has gained more space within organisations, and more companies have started looking at inclusion as part of their digital responsibilities.

Yet, at the same time, the report also reveals an uncomfortable truth: for many organisations, accessibility is still being treated as a regulatory obligation and not as a natural part of the digital experiences they design.

Almost half of the professionals interviewed in the survey stated that “nothing has changed” since the implementation of the EAA, and although 78% of organisations prepared in some way for the arrival of the legislation, only a small portion believe they are truly compliant.

The EAA created urgency, but not immediate transformation

So, did the EAA fail?

No, this does not mean the EAA failed; quite the opposite.

The legislation helped bring urgency to discussions that had remained in the background for years.

It increased the visibility of digital accessibility, pushed companies to review processes and placed the topic into strategic agendas.

In many cases, it also helped internal teams finally gain space to talk about inclusion, user experience and digital barriers, but the report highlights something important: legal compliance alone does not create inclusion.

Why accessibility cannot become a checklist

When accessibility is treated as a checklist, it usually appears too late in the process.

Problems are fixed after launch, accessibility is added as an extra layer, and the minimum required is done to avoid legal risk.

In this model, people’s experience continues to come second.

Perhaps that is why one of the most revealing findings in the report is the gap between individual confidence and organisational maturity.

While most professionals say they are confident in their own understanding of digital accessibility, very few believe their organisations share the same level of understanding.

In practice, this shows that many teams already understand the importance of accessibility, but they continue working in cultures where accessibility is still competing against more urgent priorities.

The real challenge: Organisational culture

The report shows that the main barriers to accessibility progress continue to be:

• Other priorities being considered more important
• Lack of knowledge and training
• Limited budgets
• Little or no participation from disabled people
• Lack of consistent leadership support

At the same time, the organisations showing the most consistent progress have something in common: they started integrating accessibility from the beginning of their processes, not at the end of them.

This is real progress, and it’s what changes everything.

When accessibility becomes part of planning, design, development, content creation and testing, it stops being an emergency fix and becomes part of product quality.

This is where digital accessibility goes beyond complying with standards; it becomes about creating digital experiences that work for more people, in more contexts and with fewer barriers.

Points that we have already explored in previous blogs and LinkedIn posts from Passion4Social.

Accessibility is a human experience

The report itself shows positive signs in this direction.

Many organisations have started investing more in training, creating internal resources, discussing accessibility with product teams and incorporating the subject into workflows.

There is also a growing understanding that accessibility benefits all users: everyone, and not just disabled people.

This shift in mindset matters because accessibility should never have been treated as a mere technical issue.

It influences autonomy, participation, access to information, education, services, work and everyday life.

In an increasingly digital world, excluding someone from an online experience often means excluding that person from real opportunities.

What comes next?

That is why the greatest impact of the EAA so far is not the increase in compliance we are seeing.

Perhaps it is the cultural change that has started gaining strength, and thankfully so, even if progress is slower than we’d hoped.

Yes, there is still a long way to go.

The report makes it clear that many organisations still lack adequate resources, mature strategies and accessibility truly embedded into company culture.

However, it also shows that the conversation has evolved.

Accessibility stopped being an isolated subject and slowly started occupying a more central space in discussions around digital experience, innovation and responsibility.

One year after the EAA, the landscape is still far from ideal, but it is no longer the same as before.

Perhaps that is the most important point of all: digital accessibility cannot be seen only as a regulatory goal.

It needs to become a natural part of the way we create products, services and experiences.

After all, authentic inclusion does not happen only when an organisation meets requirements; it happens when more people can participate, navigate, understand and belong.

Read our practical guide to the European Accessibility Act to learn more about what the legislation requires, who it affects, its benefits and what should be on your radar.

Share this blog with like-minded people who want to understand what has changed after one year of the EAA, and get in touch with Passion4Social today to find out how we could support you to make your digital products and services accessible.