BelgiumFrench Community decree of 24 April 2025 on the accessibility requirements for digital books
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
What it requires
- If you publish, distribute or sell e-books in the French Community, the decree of applies to e-books placed on the market from , and from to e-books placed on the market before (Articles 2, point 5, and 7).
- If you publish e-books, make them meet Sections 1 and 2 of Annex I, prepare the information Annex II requires and make it available in writing and orally, including in a way accessible to persons with disabilities, keep procedures that keep the service conforming, correct a non-conformity, tell the Administration at once and cooperate with it (Article 3(1)).
- Micro-enterprises that publish e-books are exempt from the requirements and from all obligations relating to compliance with them, counting only the book-publishing part of a business with several activities (Article 3(2)).
- If you distribute e-books, receive, store and send on the publishers' files without compromising their accessibility features or changing their metadata (Article 3(3)).
- If you sell e-books to consumers, store and supply the files without compromising their accessibility features and pass on faithfully the metadata on their accessibility features (Article 3(4)).
- The requirements apply only to the extent that compliance does not require a fundamental alteration of the e-book and does not impose a disproportionate burden; tell the Administration when you rely on this, assess it on the Annex III criteria, support the assessment with evidence, keep the results for five years, give the Administration a copy on request, and renew a burden assessment when the service changes, on request and at least every five years (Article 4(1) to (3)).
- You cannot rely on the disproportionate burden exception if you receive funding other than your own resources, public or private, to improve accessibility (Article 4(4)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Article 6(2) punishes knowingly incorrect or incomplete statements in the burden assessment with four months to five years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 26 to EUR 50,000, or either, and intentional obstruction of the agents with eight days to six months and EUR 26 to EUR 200, or either.
Penalty structure
Article 6(2) makes an e-book provider that does not meet the accessibility requirements and the obligations relating to them liable to a fine of EUR 100 to EUR 100,000 per infringement; the decree does not say which body imposes it. Knowingly incorrect or incomplete statements in the burden assessment carry four months to five years' imprisonment and a fine of EUR 26 to EUR 50,000, or either, and intentional obstruction of the agents eight days to six months and EUR 26 to EUR 200, or either.
- Rule
- Per violation only
- As of
- Minimum
- 100
- Currency
- EUR
- Per violation unit
- Violation
- Per violation amount
- 100,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Agents that the Government of the French Community designates, with the status of judicial police officers (Article 6(1)), and the Administration the Government designates to implement the decree (Article 2, point 1); disputes may go to the out-of-court settlement commission of the decree of on the cultural protection of the book (Article 5)
What it reaches
Instrument type
an act of a legislature
Applicability criteria
Article 3(2) exempts micro-enterprises that publish e-books; it states no exemption for distributors or retailers.
- As of
- Combinator
- All of
- Criteria
- publishes, distributes or sells e-books, as Article 2 defines them, in the French Community (Articles 2, point 5, and 3)
- for the publisher's duties, is not a micro-enterprise, an enterprise that employs fewer than ten persons and whose annual turnover or annual balance sheet total does not exceed EUR 2,000,000, counting only its book-publishing activity (Article 3(2))
What this law does
Article 1 of the French Community decree of states that it partly transposes Directive (EU) 2019/882. Article 2(2)(e) of the Directive brings e-books and dedicated software within its scope as services provided to consumers. Article 2, point 5, treats as e-book providers the publishers of e-books and the other economic operators associated with their distribution.
Article 3(1) requires e-books placed on the market from to meet the accessibility requirements of Sections 1 and 2 of Annex I. Article 3(1) requires publishers to prepare the information Annex II requires and make it available in writing and orally, keep procedures that keep the service conforming, take corrective measures, inform the Administration of a non-conformity at once and cooperate with it.
Article 3(2) exempts micro-enterprises that publish e-books from the accessibility requirements and from all obligations relating to compliance with them, counting only the book-publishing part of a business with several activities. Article 3(3) requires distributors of e-books to receive, store and send on the publishers' files without compromising their accessibility features or changing their metadata.
Article 3(4) requires e-book retailers to store and supply the files to consumers without compromising their accessibility features, and to pass on faithfully the metadata on their accessibility features. Article 4(1) applies the requirements only to the extent that compliance does not require a significant change that fundamentally alters the nature of the e-book and does not impose a disproportionate burden, and requires a provider relying on that rule to inform the Administration.
Article 4(2) and (3) require providers to support their assessment with evidence, keep the results for five years, give the Administration a copy on request, and renew a burden assessment when the service changes, on request and at least every five years. Article 4(4) bars a provider that receives funding other than its own resources, public or private, to improve accessibility from relying on the disproportionate burden defence.
Article 5 lets any interested person ask the independent out-of-court settlement commission of the decree of on the cultural protection of the book to settle a dispute over the decree. Article 6(1) charges agents designated by the Government, who have the status of judicial police officers, with checking compliance and recording infringements.
Article 6(2) makes an e-book provider that does not meet the accessibility requirements and the obligations relating to them liable to a fine of EUR 100 to EUR 100,000 per infringement. Article 6(2) punishes knowingly incorrect or incomplete statements or information in the burden assessment with imprisonment of four months to five years and a fine of EUR 26 to EUR 50,000, or either of them.
Article 6(2) punishes intentionally obstructing the agents with imprisonment of eight days to six months and a fine of EUR 26 to EUR 200, or either of them. Article 7 applies the decree to e-books placed on the market from , and from to e-books placed on the market before .
When LexLint raises it
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