FranceAct of 11 February 2005, Article 47, accessible online services of enterprises above the turnover threshold
Loi n° 2005-102 du 11 février 2005, art. 47 (I, 4°) et 47-1
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- If your turnover exceeds the threshold set by the decree under Article 47(V), 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 that decree (Act of , Art. 47, I and II); the threshold is EUR 250 million of average annual turnover achieved in France over the last three accounting years closed before the year concerned (Décret 2019-768, Art. 2).
- 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 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 an enterprise within 4° of Article 47(I), Arcom's powers in Article 47-1 reach only breaches of the obligations in III and IV of Article 47, for which the ceiling is EUR 25,000. 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
- 25,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Arcom, the Autorité de régulation de la communication audiovisuelle et numérique (Article 47-1 of the Act of )
What it reaches
Instrument type
an act of a legislature
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- All of
- Criteria
- an enterprise whose annual turnover reaches the threshold of EUR 250 million that the decree fixes for the enterprises in 4° of Article 47(I), calculated for each enterprise on the average of the annual turnover achieved in France over the last three accounting years closed before the year concerned
What this law does
Article 47 of the Act of makes the online public communication services of enterprises whose turnover exceeds a threshold set by decree accessible to persons with disabilities, in accordance with the accessibility requirements fixed by that decree. Article 80 of the Act of rewrote Article 47(I), the paragraph that lists the persons bound.
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 enterprises 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(III) and (IV) by the enterprises found and recorded in official reports. Arcom serves formal notice on the enterprises to comply with the obligations in 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. Article 47-1 gives Arcom no power to serve notice on or penalise an enterprise in 4° for failing the accessibility obligation in I of Article 47 itself: for those enterprises its findings, notice and penalty reach only the obligations in III and IV.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface or ships a mobile app.