The Accessible Information Technology Regulation (BITV) 2.0 aims to establish accessible information technology in accordance with the Law on Equal Treatment of Persons with Disabilities (BGG). The BITV was first enacted in 2002; nine years later, it was replaced by BITV 2.0, which was further amended in 2019. The goal is to ensure that people with disabilities are not excluded from accessing digital content provided by public authorities in Germany.
The regulation refers to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, which represent an international standard for the accessibility of websites. These guidelines are divided into three levels of conformance (A, AA, and AAA), each building upon the previous one. Level A covers the basic requirements; Level AA additionally includes medium-priority requirements; and Level AAA includes low-priority requirements as well. If all criteria across the three levels are met, very good accessibility is achieved. In Europe, Level AA is required for public sector organizations. This level is also the goal for most development teams.
The WCAG was published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C is an organization dedicated to standardizing the World Wide Web.
The BITV—just like the WCAG—can be structured according to the following four principles: Perceivability, Operability, Understandability, and Robustness. Users must be able to perceive information; for example, alternative text (alt="description") is required. Navigation must be operable (e.g., keyboard accessibility). Information and functionality must be understandable. For example, a language attribute (lang="de") is required for this. Additionally, content must be robust enough to be interpreted by assistive technologies (e.g., compatibility with screen readers).
The accessibility of websites and web applications can be tested using the BIK BITV test. It is based on BITV 2.0 / European Standard (EN) 301 549. As of February 12, 2022, version 3.2.1 of EN 301 549 will be the standard. It is mandatory for public agencies. BITV does not specify a particular version of the EN, which means that BITV does not need to be updated when a new version of the EN is released.
The new requirements of version 3.2.1 of EN 301 549 are reflected in six new test steps. These include four requirements related to “two-way voice communication” and two new requirements regarding “video capability.” Specifically, for “two-way voice communication,” the test steps “Alternatives to voice-based services,” “Synchronization during video calls,” “Visual indication of audio activity,” and “Speaker indication for sign language communication.” In the “Video Capability” category, the steps “Caption Customization” and “Spoken Captions” have been added.
The test generates a test report that can be published. There is also a BIK certification mark. If this mark is to be published, a link to the test report must be provided to ensure the transparency of the evaluation.
