YOUR GO-TO INTELLIGENCE RESOURCE FOR THE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING INDUSTRY

The Association for Computing Machinery’s global Technology Policy Council has released a new bulletin titled "TechBrief: Advancing Accessibility in the Digital World", highlighting persistent barriers to digital accessibility and urging greater integration of accessibility into technology development processes.

Co-authored by experts from the United States and Europe, the report identifies accessibility as a fundamental requirement for equitable access to technology, particularly for individuals with disabilities. The authors argue that accessibility has not been consistently embedded across the lifecycle of digital technology development, resulting in widespread exclusion from services, information, and digital infrastructure.

According to the report, despite existing international legislation, structural inconsistencies and limited prioritization have prevented meaningful progress. Current accessibility frameworks vary across jurisdictions in scope and application, with some policies applying only to public sector entities, while others extend to the private sector. Requirements also differ in terms of which technologies are covered, from websites to mobile applications and digital kiosks.

The authors propose establishing a global baseline by aligning accessibility mandates with international standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and EN 301 549. They recommend that accessibility be treated as a foundational quality alongside security and privacy, and integrated throughout all stages of design, development, and deployment.

The report further emphasizes the role of education in establishing shared competencies across countries. It advocates for consistent accessibility instruction for future computing professionals, regardless of whether they enter industry or academia.

Key recommendations from the report include:

• Aligning digital accessibility requirements with internationally recognized standards.

• Embedding accessibility as a core quality attribute of technology, equal in importance to privacy and security.

• Ensuring accessibility is addressed across all stages of the technology development lifecycle.

This publication is part of ACM’s ongoing TechBriefs series, which provides concise, evidence-based analyses of emerging topics in computing and their policy implications. Previous editions have addressed issues such as generative AI, climate technologies, quantum simulation, facial recognition, and election systems.