The survey investigated the availability of information about accessibility of computer hardware and software in the countries. Few countries have any official policy to ensure accessibility to computers as such. Only Spain and, to a lesser extent, Hungary and Sweden, reported any substantial policy instruments in this ICT domain.
Figure . Status of computers accessibility policy in EU and non-EU countries
Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages
Figure . Status of computers accessibility policy, by country
Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages
Scoring for policy to ensure accessibility information from computer manufacturers is based on the following two questions:
-
Are computer manufacturers required to provide information on built-in accessibility features of own products provided to customers with specific needs in your (main) national language?
-
Are computer manufacturers required to provide information on assistive technology that interface with own products provided to customers with specific needs?
Answer options to both questions were: No / Weak statement or narrow scope / Wide scope or strong statement.
Only Hungary, Sweden and USA have some official policy to ensure accessibility information from computer manufacturers.
Scoring for policy to ensure accessibility information from operating system developers is based on the following two questions:
-
Are operating system developers required to provide information on built-in accessibility features of own
products provided to customers with specific needs in your (main) national language?
-
Are operating system developers required to provide information on assistive technology that interface with own products provided to customers with specific needs in your (main) national language?
Answer options to both questions were: No / Weak statement or narrow scope / Wide scope or strong statement.
As in the previous indicator, only two EU countries, Sweden and Spain, appear to have adopted any policy instruments to ensure accessibility information from operating system developers.
The questions used to construct the score of policy to ensure accessibility information from software developers were:
-
Are software developers required to provide information on built-in accessibility features of own products provided to customers with specific needs in your (main) national language?
-
Are software developers required to provide information on assistive technology that interface with own products provided to customers with specific needs in your (main) national language?
Answer options to both questions were: No / Weak statement or narrow scope / Wide scope or strong statement.
In addition to Hungary, Sweden and Spain appear to have adopted some policy instruments to ensure accessibility information from software developers.
Scoring for prevalence of certification or labelling of accessibility of computer hardware and software is based on the following two questions:
-
To what extent is certification or labelling of accessibility of computer hardware and software in use in public consumer protection policy or equivalent programmes? (Certification or labelling not yet playing a significant role / Computer accessibility certification or labelling is an integral part of policy approach)
-
What kind of certification or labelling of computer accessibility is most common in your country? (No certification / Self-declaration / NGO certification or label / Third-party certification)
Spain and the Netherlands have a medium score (50%) on certification or labelling of accessibility of computer hardware and software, followed by Hungary (36%). The remaining countries hardly show any initiatives on certification or labelling of accessibility of computer hardware and software.
Table . Status of computers accessibility policy
|
TOTAL
|
EU COUNTRIES
|
Czech Republic
|
Denmark
|
France
|
Germany
|
Greece
|
Hungary
|
Ireland
|
Italy
|
Portugal
|
Spain
|
Sweden
|
The Netherlands
|
United Kingdom
|
NON-EU COUNTRIES
|
Australia
|
Canada
|
Norway
|
USA
|
Total Computers
|
18
|
19
|
9
|
18
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
36
|
9
|
9
|
13
|
45
|
39
|
25
|
13
|
15
|
9
|
13
|
9
|
29
|
Information from computer manufacturers
|
21
|
18
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
50
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
30
|
50
|
10
|
10
|
30
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
90
|
Information from operating system developers
|
15
|
16
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
50
|
50
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
Information from software developers
|
19
|
22
|
10
|
30
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
50
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
50
|
50
|
30
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
Certification or labelling of accessibility to computers
|
17
|
19
|
7
|
21
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
36
|
7
|
7
|
21
|
50
|
7
|
50
|
21
|
11
|
7
|
21
|
7
|
7
|
Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages
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