Notes # 7: The WebAIM Million, EAA In The Netherlands, IAAP Dublin...

Personal Notes

In our office days, we generally go to the nearest shopping mall’s food court for lunch, and one of our most frequently preferred options is a crispy chicken restaurant called DOYUYO!, a franchise in Turkey. However, last week we noticed that they had installed self-service kiosks in front of the restaurant, and now every customer has to use these kiosks to place an order. Guess what? The kiosks are not accessible.

There are one or two Doyuyo staff members available to help customers use the kiosks, but when we step inside, a bit of chaos begins. In our team, we have three totally blind members, one partially sighted member, and one sighted member. We cannot use the kiosks independently and have to start a dialogue with staff about menu and drink selection, payment method, and receiving the order number. This process takes longer than the traditional method of ordering at the table.

So, we need screen reader–supported kiosks or a mobile ordering system with a QR code that allows us to order independently. If technology develops faster than accessibility, it creates wider gaps in every aspect of life. We experienced it.

News

The WebAIM Million

Source: WebAIM

The 2026 report on the accessibility of the top 1,000,000 home pages by WebAIM is released. Copying this year’s key message from the conclusion part of the report. To learn more, you can look at the “In Detail” section of this newsletter: “The 2026 WebAIM Million analysis found notable increases in both the number of detected accessibility errors and number of pages with WCAG conformance failures (…) These trends likely reflect broader shifts in web development including increased reliance on 3rd party frameworks and libraries and automated or AI-assisted coding practices (“vibe coding”). Home pages are getting larger and more technologically complex at an alarming rate, making accessibility more difficult to achieve and maintain.”

6 In 10 Dutch Webshops Inaccessible To Users With Disabilities

Source: NLTimes

In the Netherlands, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) conducted usability tests with persons with disabilities (be careful, not automation) on 100 webshops and websites. In 61 percent of cases, ordering was entirely impossible due to keyboard navigation issues and CAPTCHA verification tests. About one-third of webshops also faced “serious issues.” So, what’s next? A spokesperson for the market regulator said companies are allowed “considerable time” to bring their websites into compliance. What does “considerable time” mean? We know that the EAA’s deadline was June 2025 for many years, and almost a year has passed since that deadline. So, how many years should we wait for equal access?

Kane County May Reduce Online Board Materials, To Meet Federal Rule

Source: Daily Herald

In a few issues before, I mentioned the ADA Title II deadline. In short, after April 24, state and local governments should make their websites, apps, and digital content accessible. The Kane County Board normally shares detailed meeting documents, including PDFs—sometimes more than 1,000 pages—which include images of documents, maps, graphics, photos, PowerPoint presentation slides, and more. So, in practice, making all the meeting documents accessible is nearly impossible due to size and type of the content. Now, Kane County will discuss a challenging question next week: For the sake of equal access, should they eliminate some information that cannot be made accessible? This case is a clear sign that compliance alone cannot solve the real issue without related technical guidance and recommendations.

Inspirations

Why We Must Oppose AB 2190

Source: Tactile Power

AB 2190 is a bill introduced in the California Legislature, and it “would allow businesses to limit their liability for accessibility barriers if they can show that they made ‘good faith efforts’ to comply with accessibility standards.” In this article, the subjective “good faith” term and its impact are discussed. Especially with rising technology, and as accessibility overlays or AI agents can be used, “good faith” can be claimed very easily. So, this bill should be revised in today’s world.

Overcoming The Challenges Of NHS Accessibility Issues

Source: St Albans Times

The article describes a blind patient’s experience with the NHS booking app. “Apps, portals, online booking platforms—they are meant to make things more efficient, but for many of us, they do the opposite.” This is what inaccessible apps feel like. The article also shows that alternatives for booking include touch-screen devices in the hospital or a paper form. For a basic right like access to healthcare, these kinds of barriers should not exist.

EAA Enforcement: What We Learned at IAAP Dublin

Source: Applause

IAAP organised a workshop in Dublin to discuss EAA implementation and the EN 301 549 European accessibility standards. The opening day featured a workshop that provided a deep dive into the requirements of EN 301 549. The article show that some criteria—especially those that are not direct counterparts of WCAG—still need more clarification. There are few EN 301 549 professionals, so notes from these kinds of workshops are very valuable. The recording of Day 2 can be found on the IAAP YouTube channel. Here is the link to a panel discussion featuring members of European surveillance authorities.

In Detail: Takeaways From WebAIM Million

Read this article on its own page

Since 2019, WebAIM has been conducting accessibility evaluations of the home pages of the top 1,000,000 websites using its automated tool, WAVE. While automated tools are not fully reliable, the WebAIM Million studies are a valuable resource for understanding trends in digital accessibility due to their large sample size. So, let’s take a look at some key findings:

• More Complex Pages, More Errors: Compared to last year, the number of elements on web pages increased by 22.5%, while the number of accessibility errors rose by 10.1%. Although the slower growth in errors compared to page complexity might seem like a small win, it is not sufficient. With “technological revolutions” such as AI, along with legal regulations and a growing focus on inclusion, I would have expected at least a decrease in error rates. Accessibility is not progressing as fast as technology.
• More Visual Pages: The number of images on home pages increased by 13.6% over the past year. Meanwhile, the percentage of pages with missing or incorrect alt text decreased from 55.5% to 53.1%. Considering the increase in images, this is a promising improvement. However, there is another concern. Although it is not covered in this study, the use of images of text seems to be increasing based on my experience. Even when alternative text is provided, images of text create a poor experience for users with low vision. For this reason, the growing visual nature of web pages deserves closer examination. There may be increasing user experience issues that cannot be detected through automation.
• Misuse of ARIA: ARIA usage increased by 27% over the past year, yet pages using ARIA had, on average, 17 more detected errors. This may be because ARIA makes certain errors easier to identify. On the other hand, the study also highlights common mistakes in ARIA implementation. ARIA is often perceived as a “magic solution” for accessibility, but in many cases, it ends up creating more confusion. So, use it carefully.
• “Access to Basic Rights First, the Rest Doesn’t Matter”: Here are the five categories with the fewest -Government (42,4), Non-Profit / Charity (43), Science (45), Personal Finance (45,4), Careers (46,2)- and the most errors -Hobbies and Interests (63,6), Home and Garden (65,9), Styles and Fashion (66,7), Shopping (71), Sports (71,4)-. Except for Science, the categories with fewer errors are all related to access to information, services, and fundamental rights. In contrast, hobby-related websites have 20 more accessibility errors compared to these categories. While it is encouraging that websites related to fundamental rights and services are more accessible, the fact that hobby sites lag so far behind does not support equal participation in society for persons with disabilities. It’s as if we can access our rights, but not engage in enjoyable topics.
• Did Regulations Make a Difference?: Under the European Accessibility Act, we know that concrete steps have been taken in Germany, the Netherlands, and France. In Turkey, an accessibility circular has also been introduced. For this reason, I compared accessibility errors on pages in the languages of these four countries with last year’s data. However, I could not find a meaningful difference. This may be because the sample size includes many websites that are not covered by these regulations, or it may indicate that there is genuinely no impact yet. Perhaps it is still too early for such a comparison.