EC wants disabled access clauses in IT contracts

Future government IT contracts could be forced to contain clauses that ensure the technology is accessible to elderly and disabled people, according to new proposals by the European Commission (EC).

The EC cites support for the proposals by 90 per cent of respondents to a recent online survey it conducted on the need for "eAccessibility" measures.

The study also found demand for some kind of product certification or "labelling" scheme with 74 per cent of respondents saying IT goods and services need to be made more fully interoperable and that technical requirements should be harmonised within and beyond the EU.

The 500 respondents came from a wide range of public agencies, IT suppliers, universities, business associations and user groups - and 88 per cent said European Union (EU) institutions should take the lead on forcing the issue of accessibility.

The EC said the need for a new approach stems from "lacklustre" deployment of previous EU policy initiatives including those on the accessibility of public websites across the EU.

Information and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding said in the report that the proposals would have both social and business benefits.

"Making the information society accessible for all is for me both a social necessity and an economic objective. The more accessible new technologies can be made, the bigger the potential markets for them," she said.

The EC said it will put forward more concrete proposals on IT accessibility in September. The results of the online study can be found here.