EAA Deadline Missed — What Now?

1. What Has Happened Since the Deadline

On June 28, 2025, the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into effect across the EU. In Germany, the national implementation is called the BFSG (Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz). Since that date, all B2C online stores must be accessible. We’re writing in March 2026 — that’s 9 months past the deadline. Here is what has happened since:

2. Who Is Affected?

In short: nearly every B2C online store in the EU. The EAA applies to “services in electronic commerce” — meaning any website where consumers can purchase products, book services, or enter into contracts. Each EU member state has its own national implementation with specific fine structures.

3. Fines: What’s Actually at Stake

The EAA is an EU directive — each member state sets its own penalty structure. Here’s how fines compare across the EU:

Sources: BFSG §37, BaFG (BGBl. I 76/2023), TestParty.ai (France lawsuits), Bird & Bird / Lexology (France fines), Level Access (EU overview). As of March 2026.

Germany: Two-Tier Fine Structure

Germany’s BFSG (§37) defines two penalty levels: up to €100,000 for substantive violations (offering non-accessible products or services, ignoring enforcement orders) and up to €10,000 for formal violations (missing documentation, failure to respond to authorities). Fines apply per violation — a store with 500 product images missing alt texts could theoretically face 500 separate violations.

Have Any Fines Been Issued?

As of March 2026, no publicly confirmed fines have been issued in Germany. The MLBF has been operational since September 2025 but only entered its active enforcement phase in January 2026. However, in France, disability advocacy groups have already taken legal action, and the Dutch ACM has begun conducting audits. The enforcement apparatus is ramping up across the EU.

4. Legal Action: The Real Threat Right Now

While the first government-imposed fine has yet to be publicly confirmed, private legal action is already widespread. In Germany, EAA violations are classified as unfair trade practices (§3a UWG), meaning competitors, qualified consumer associations, and disability organizations can take legal action.

5. Alt Texts: The Most Common Violation — and the Fastest Fix

Missing alt texts on product images are among the most common, most easily provable, and fastest-to-fix EAA violations. Here’s why:

What the Law Requires

The EAA references EN 301 549, which incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The relevant success criterion is 1.1.1 Non-text Content: every image that conveys information needs a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose. For online stores, this means:

• Every product image needs a descriptive alt text (not just “image” or the filename)
• Decorative images need an empty alt attribute (alt="")
• Icons and buttons need meaningful descriptions
• Alt text must be in the HTML source code (as a real alt attribute)

Why Overlay Widgets Don’t Satisfy the Requirement

Germany’s Federal Accessibility Office (BFIT-Bund) stated in 2025 that overlay tools alone do not meet the legal standard. Overlays modify the DOM in the browser, not the HTML source code. If the JavaScript fails to load (ad blockers, network errors), no alt texts are present — violating the WCAG principle of Robustness.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined accessiBe $1 million in April 2025 for deceptive compliance claims. Automatic conformance promises are not substantiated.

6. What You Should Do Right Now

You’re overdue. But you can significantly reduce your risk exposure within the next 48 hours. Here is your priority list:

7. Transition Periods — Who Still Has Time?

There is no general grace period for online stores. But there is one narrow exception:

Services agreed before June 28, 2025 may continue unchanged until June 28, 2030. But “unchanged” means the entire shop must remain frozen as an archive. Any update, redesign, or new product listing ends this protection immediately. For any active online store, this exception is practically irrelevant.

To claim “disproportionate burden,” the business must conduct a documented assessment and apply to the market surveillance authority. For typical online stores running standard technology (WordPress, Shopware, Shopify), this argument is difficult to sustain.

8. Conclusion

Waiting is no longer an option in March 2026. The deadline was 9 months ago. The grace period ended in January 2026. Cease-and-desist letters have been escalating since August 2025. Authorities are actively requesting documentation. In France, major retailers are being taken to court.

The good news: you don’t have to solve everything at once. Start with the fastest, highest-impact measures — and missing alt texts on product images are the easiest starting point. They’re one of the most common violations, but also one of the quickest to resolve.

Important: AutoAlt.ai does not make your entire website EAA compliant. No single tool can. But it solves the alt text problem — which is one of the most common and provable violations. Full accessibility (contrast, keyboard navigation, screen reader compatibility) requires additional measures.