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Disability and audiovisual and digital communication: 20 years of Arcom action in favor of accessibility
Translations are provided as a service to Arcom users and are supplied “as is”, throught the DeepL tool. Consequently, only the text of the original version is authentic.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the February 11, 2005 law on equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship for people with disabilities, we take a look back at Arcom's missions to ensure the accessibility of audiovisual programs, certain online public communication services and Ebooks.
Everyone has the right to equal access to information, entertainment and culture, whatever their disability. Making audiovisuel and digital communication accessible means promoting inclusion, guaranteeing equal access to information and respecting the fundamental rights of everyone.
Until recently restricted to the audiovisual field, Arcom's competence in terms of accessibility has been extended to digital content. Today, the law entrusts Arcom with missions including :
- accessibility of audiovisual programs
- accessibility of certain digital sites and services
- accessibility of Ebooks
Accessibility of audiovisual programs
Arcom works to ensure that TV channels make their programs accessible to people with hearing or visual impairments, and to strengthen the quality of accessibility.
Arcom's historic mission continually enriched
2005
Mandatory subtitling for the deaf and hearing-impaired
- Obligation for public service channels and private channels whose audience exceeds 2.5% of the total audience for TV services to make all their programs accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired.
- Obligation for other private channels to include in their agreements the proportion of programs made accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired.
- Annual consultation of the CNCPH by the Arcom college on subtitling and French Sign Language performer obligations.
2009
Consideration for the visually impaired
Obligations relating to program accessibility for blind and partially-sighted people for public channels and private channels whose audience exceeds 2.5% of the total audience for TV services.
2020
Accessibility quality and new uses
- Arcom's jurisdiction over accessibility quality.
- Obligation to broadcast ccessibility schemes on catch-up TV.
- Accessibility obligations for certain SMADs under agreement.
2023
Obligations for distributors
- Obligation for distributors to adopt accessibility features
- Accessibility of interfaces giving access to audiovisual media services
- Production of electronic guides providing information on the accessibility of proposed programs
Volume of programs made available by TV channels
With the exception of a few, mostly minor, shortcomings, all television service editors have complied with their quantitative obligations in terms of program accessibility. Some have even far exceeded the commitments made in their agreements.
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TV channels' compliance with their quantitative commitments on program accessibility
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- in french
Accessibility of digital sites and services
By law, Arcom is responsible for ensuring compliance with a certain number of obligations relating to the accessibility of online public communication services, i.e. websites, mobile applications, intranets and so on.
As part of its action plan, Arcom carried out scheduled checks on 583 sites in 2024. 353 sites (60.5%) did not have a statement of compliance, 325 sites (55.7%) did not have an accessibility declaration, and 496 sites (85.1%) did not have a multi-year plan.
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Depending on the service, Arcom checks compliance with the following obligations:
- Compliance with accessibility requirements: for websites, this point is checked against the criteria of the Référentiel Général d'Amélioration de l'Accessibilité(RGAA).
- Reference to compliance: each online service must clearly display its compliance with accessibility rules on its home page.
- Presence and conformity of the accessibility declaration, the organization's multi-year accessibility plan and the current year's action plan.
- Provision of a reporting scheme for breaches of accessibility rules.
Arcom action plan for monitoring digital accessibility obligations
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- in french
The accessibility of Ebooks
Arcom has two missions relating to the literary publishing sector:
The first concerns facilitating access for people with disabilities to books protected by copyright or neighbor rights. Publishers are obliged to make a digital file available to approved organizations on request, enabling them to adapt books to the specific needs of people with disabilities.
The second, arising from the directive on accessibility requirements for products and services, concerns the obligation for Ebooks and specialized software to be natively accessible.
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From June 28, 2025, Arcom will implement its control mission, which will cover publishers, distributors and broadcasters, retailers and specialized software publishers. In particular, the Authority will be able to :
- verify that Ebooks and specialized software comply with accessibility requirements;
- follow up complaints or reports on aspects relating to the non-compliance of Ebooks and specialized software with accessibility requirements;
- verify that the economic operator has taken the necessary corrective measures to meet accessibility requirements.
Resources
Charters and guides
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Arcom studies and reports
On the same subject
11 April 2024
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