Let's clarify: The AGID Guidelines of May 15, 2025
The big news is that a new platform will go live on the AGID website on June 29.
Let's clarify: The AGID Guidelines of May 15, 2025 (under consultation).
The Agency for Digital Italy has launched a public consultation on the Guidelines on the accessibility of services, implementing Legislative Decree No. 82/2022, which transposed European Directive 2019/882, known as the European Accessibility Act (EAA).
The importance of these clarifications—still under consultation—lies in the role played by AgID, as the designated supervisory authority responsible for ensuring compliance with the accessibility requirements that certain services must meet under the legislation.
The Guidelines apply to websites and mobile apps, banking services, e-commerce, e-books, self-service terminals (such as ATMs and ticket machines), hardware and software devices with user interfaces (such as smartphones, tablets, and PCs), electronic documents (such as accessible PDFs), as well as assistive technologies such as screen readers and alternative keyboards.
Starting June 28, 2025, all economic operators that place on the market or provide the products and services covered by the decree must ensure that they are designed and implemented in such a way as to be accessible to persons with disabilities.
AGID has specified that the directive involves both consumers and service providers, highlighting the fact that companies often see these rules as a burden, but that in reality they offer many advantages, such as first and foremost:
the creation of new jobs specialising in assistive technologies,
the reduction of barriers for job seekers,
more opportunities for companies to market their products and services.
Among the main new features is the implementation of the Digital Ombudsman portal, whose platform will be operational on the Authority's website from June 29, 2025.
The platform will be used to:
manage complaints about non-compliant services,
inform AGID of non-compliant services and the corrective measures taken to monitor and comply with legal obligations.
On May 15 and 16, 2025, the Institute for the Blind in Milan hosted Accessibility Days, an event dedicated to accessibility and disabilities, aimed at those who design, develop, create, or communicate digital content. Accessibility Days is held on GAAD, the international day that promotes awareness and the importance of digital accessibility every year with the aim of encouraging discussion, the exchange of best practices, collaboration, and interaction with professionals and people with disabilities to build a more inclusive digital world.
Eye-Able® was present at the meeting, as was AGID, which, on May 16, 2025, spoke to clarify the new and constantly evolving legislation:
“We will be ready with a digital platform by June 29. AGID could not fail to do this because it is in its nature, so it is also an institutional obligation to manage all the processes underlying Decree 82 of 2022 in a completely digital manner.”
AGID thus clarified the purpose of the platform:
Receiving complaints from consumers and citizens.
As provided for in Article 21 of Legislative Decree No. 82/22, anyone can report any issues that in any way cause or may cause discrimination against persons with disabilities.
Legal compliance.
Ensuring that suppliers comply with legal obligations in order to facilitate supervision by the Authority: the platform will enable the digitization of the obligations incumbent on companies under Article 12, paragraph 5, and Article 13 of Legislative Decree No. 82/22, namely the representation (i) of cases of non-compliance, also attaching an assessment of the issues that the company itself has encountered in terms of non-compliance and how to remedy them; (ii) of cases where the conditions of disproportionate burden and substantial modification provided for in the decree exist.
AGID has clarified that the technical assessment is the responsibility of the supplier and must be repeated and updated on an ongoing basis.
With regard to strictly technical aspects, for the benefit of all, it should be clarified that the so-called WCAG 2.1 are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and define technical specifications for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility covers a wide range of disabilities, including visual, hearing, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. Although these guidelines address many issues, they cannot meet the needs of people with all types, degrees, and combinations of disabilities. These guidelines also make web content more usable by older people with changing abilities due to aging and often improve navigation for all users.
WCAG 2.1 is developed through the W3C process in collaboration with individuals and organizations from around the world, with the goal of providing a shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. WCAG 2.1 is based on WCAG 2.0 [WCAG20], which in turn is based on WCAG 1.0 [WAI-WEBCONTENT] and is designed to apply broadly to a variety of web technologies now and in the future, as well as to be verifiable through a combination of automated testing and human evaluation.
The most recent version, WCAG 2.2, was officially published in November 2022 and introduced specific criteria to improve the accessibility of interactive content and web applications, with a particular focus on users with cognitive disabilities and older users. WCAG 2.2 maintains the division into levels of compliance and compatibility with previous versions (WCAG 2.0 and 2.1).
The AGID Guidelines also clarified the following aspects:
Compliance verification
The assessment is based on WCAG 2.1, but it is recommended to design and develop with WCAG 2.2 in mind.
Accessibility Officer
Possibility of appointing an Accessibility Officer to coordinate all digital accessibility processes.
Accessibility by Design
Accessibility requirements must be integrated 'natively' into the development of any new digital service, not as an afterthought.
Contractual clauses with suppliers
If the development of new services is outsourced to external companies, the contract must include an explicit commitment to comply with accessibility requirements, with periodic monitoring of progress and a testing plan that includes compatibility tests with assistive technologies in the presence of an expert.
Checklist
AGID provides a checklist derived from WCAG 2.1 for monitoring the development of new services and evaluating services already in operation.
The new guidelines provided for in Article 21 of Legislative Decree 82 are finally online on the official AGID website, and can be consulted here.
Eye-Able® is at your side to support you in adapting your websites and fulfilling AGID requirements.