The Act on the Provision of Digital Services entered into force on 1 April 2019, implementing the EU Web Accessibility Directive 2016/2102 on the accessibility of public bodies' websites and mobile applications. The scope of the Act covers public sector bodies, i.e. state authorities, regional authorities, local authorities and public law institutions or combinations thereof (e.g. Finnair, VR, HSL, University of Helsinki).
National legislation implementing the European Accessibility Act was enacted on 1 February 2023. Among other things, new services will be covered by the accessibility requirements of the Digital Services Act. Services will have to be accessible after the transitional period for the accessibility requirements of the Digital Services Act, from June 28, 2025.
From my work point-of-view, the biggest new service covered by the accessibility requirements is online shops. Now online shops will also finally have to be accessible.
Several authorities are involved in the monitoring of the Accessibility Act. Traficom is responsible for the supervision of products and non-digital services, and the Regional Administrative Board of Southern Finland is responsible for the supervision of digital services. They are currently in the process of redefining the monitoring responsibilities and expect results around January 2025.