FranceAct of 11 February 2005, Article 47, accessible online services of private-law persons delegated a public service mission
Loi n° 2005-102 du 11 février 2005, art. 47 (I, 2°) et 47-1
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding private bodies.
- Instrument type
- an act of a legislature
As of .
What it requires
- If you are a private-law person delegated a public service mission, make your online public communication services (websites, intranets, extranets, mobile applications, packaged software and the application and interactive part of digital street furniture) accessible to persons with disabilities, in accordance with the accessibility requirements fixed by the decree under Article 47(V) (Act of , Art. 47, I, 2°, and II).
- The accessibility duty applies to the extent that it does not create a disproportionate burden for you (Art. 47, II; Décret 2019-768, Art. 4).
- Publish an accessibility statement and draw up a multi-year accessibility plan, made public and broken down into annual action plans, for a term of no more than three years (Art. 47, III).
- Show on the home page of every such service a clearly visible mention of whether it complies with the accessibility rules (Art. 47, IV).
- Give easy and direct access, from every such service, to the accessibility statement, the multi-year plan and the current year's action plan, and let users easily report breaches of the accessibility rules (Art. 47, IV).
- If Arcom serves a formal notice that you have failed the obligations in I, III or IV of Article 47, comply within the period it sets (Art. 47-1, II).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Penalty structure
For a person within 1° to 3° of Article 47(I), Arcom's powers in Article 47-1 reach breaches of the obligations in I, III and IV of Article 47. Article 47-1 II sets the ceiling of the financial penalty at EUR 50,000 for non-compliance with the accessibility obligation in I of Article 47 and at EUR 25,000 for non-compliance with the obligations in III and IV of Article 47. The amount takes account of the nature, gravity and duration of the breach and of earlier breaches. Where the same breach persists six months after a penalty, a new penalty may be imposed (Article 47-1 III). The penalty is imposed by Arcom after a formal notice that it makes public, and Arcom may add the publicity penalty.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- EUR
- Fixed cap
- 50,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Arcom, the Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique (Article 47-1 of the Act of )
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- Does "délégataires d'une mission de service public" in Article 47(I)(2°) reach a private-law person that performs a public service mission without a formal delegation?
What this law does
Article 47 of the Act of makes accessible to persons with disabilities the online public communication services of private-law persons delegated a public service mission.
Article 47(I) also lists public-law persons, private-law persons created to meet general-interest needs that are not industrial or commercial and whose activity is financed mainly by, whose management is controlled by, or more than half of whose governing members are appointed by the persons listed, and private-law persons constituted by those persons for such needs; the duties of those bodies are covered on law.ungovr.org in the public-sector accessibility entry for France.
The accessibility duty concerns access to any type of information in digital form, in particular websites, intranets, extranets, mobile applications, packaged software and the application and interactive part of digital street furniture. It is implemented to the extent that it does not create a disproportionate burden for the organisation concerned.
Article 47 does not apply to the online services of private non-profit bodies that provide neither essential services for the public nor services meeting the specific needs of persons with disabilities or intended for them. The persons listed in Article 47(I) publish an accessibility statement and draw up a multi-year accessibility plan, made public and broken down into annual action plans, for a term of no more than three years.
The home page of every such service carries a clearly visible mention of whether the service complies with the accessibility rules. Every such service gives easy and direct access to the statement, the plan and the current annual action plan, and lets users easily report breaches of the accessibility rules. The Conseil d'État decree under Article 47(V) also fixes the exempted content among that listed in Article 1(4) of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 and Article 2(4) of Directive (EU) 2019/882.
To facilitate its monitoring, Arcom may use proportionate automated methods of collecting publicly accessible data. The amount of the financial penalty takes account of the nature, gravity and duration of the breach and of any earlier breaches. Where the same breach persists six months after a penalty is pronounced, a new penalty may be pronounced. Arcom may also formulate recommendations to improve the accessibility of the services.
Arcom, the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority (Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique), may have breaches of Article 47(I), (III) and (IV) by these persons found and recorded in official reports. Arcom serves formal notice on these persons to comply with the obligations in I, III and IV of Article 47 within a period it sets, and makes the notice public.
If the person does not comply with the formal notice, Arcom may impose a financial penalty and, as a complementary measure, the publicity penalty.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface or ships a mobile app.