Accessibility laws aren’t just a western thing. They exist all over the globe. And many of them are far stricter than you might expect.
The pattern is remarkably consistent:
Most countries anchor their requirements to WCAG, usually 2.0 or 2.1 AA, although 2.2 is becoming more common. Some focus on public sector first (government sites, education, healthcare). Others cast a wider net, covering private businesses, e-commerce, and digital services from day one.
And the enforcement? It ranges from “strongly encouraged” to “you will be fined, and it will hurt.”
Let’s look at a couple examples:
The United States has a patchwork of laws. The most significant is the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) – a civil rights law from 1990 that did not mention the internet, as the web barely existed at the time. But courts have repeatedly ruled that digital access counts. It gets complex because there is overlap between the ADA, Section 508, Section 504… and currently they have different sets of rules. In May 2025 a bill was introduced in Congress (Websites and Software Applications Accessibility Act of 2025) meant to unify the standard across all legislation.
The European Union implemented the European Accessibility Act (EAA) in June 2025, requiring ecommerce, banking, transport, and other digital services to meet EN 301 549 – the European ICT accessibility standard that incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA in full, plus additional requirements for hardware, telecommunications, and other technologies. But here’s
the thing: each member state is enforcing it differently. Some countries had stricter rules already. Others are still catching up. The EAA created a floor, not a ceiling – and enforcement varies by country.
The rest of the world? The UK has the Equality Act and the PSBAR (Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations) . Canada has the AODA (Ontarians with Disabilities Act) and ACA (Accessible Canada Act). Australia’s had court cases over inaccessible websites since the early 2000s. Japan, Brazil, Israel, and India all have accessibility standards based on WCAG. The list goes on.
Laws vary. Requirements shift. Standards evolve.
But no matter where you are in the world, the direction is the same:
Build accessible websites, or be prepared to explain why you didn’t.