The European Accessibility Act (EAA) went into effect on June 28, 2025. For ebook authors and publishers, this is the most significant regulatory change in years. Here's what you need to know and what you should do about it.
What Is the European Accessibility Act?
The EAA is an EU directive (Directive 2019/882) that requires products and services sold in the European Union to meet accessibility standards. It covers a wide range of digital products, including:
- Ebooks and ebook reading software
- E-commerce websites
- Banking services
- Transportation ticketing
- Computers and operating systems
For the ebook industry, the relevant requirement is straightforward: ebooks sold in the EU must be accessible to people with disabilities.
What "Accessible" Means Under the EAA
The EAA doesn't invent its own accessibility standard. Instead, it references existing international standards, specifically, the EPUB Accessibility 1.1 specification and WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
In practical terms, an EAA-compliant ebook must have:
- Accessibility metadata declaring the book's features and hazards
- Alt text for all meaningful images
- Logical heading structure that screen readers can navigate
- Proper reading order that matches the visual layout
- Sufficient contrast for text and interactive elements
- Language declarations for correct screen reader pronunciation
- A table of contents embedded in the EPUB navigation
If you've been following EPUB accessibility best practices, your books may already comply. If not, you have specific work to do.
Who's Affected?
The EAA applies to anyone selling ebooks in the EU, regardless of where the author or publisher is based. This means:
- Self-published authors on Amazon KDP, if your book is available in EU Kindle stores, the EAA applies
- Small publishers, the EAA includes an exemption for "micro-enterprises" (fewer than 10 employees and under 2 million in annual turnover), but only where compliance would be a disproportionate burden
- Distributors and retailers, Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and other platforms are responsible for ensuring the products they sell comply, which is why they're tightening their quality checks
The practical effect: even if you're a solo author in the US, the EU marketplace requirements flow through to you via retailer enforcement.
What Retailers Are Doing
Major ebook retailers have responded to the EAA by strengthening their automated quality checks:
Amazon KDP has been quietly flagging non-compliant EPUBs since late 2024. Books that fail accessibility checks see reduced visibility in search results, the "silent suppression" that many authors have reported. Amazon hasn't publicly detailed its enforcement approach, but the timing aligns directly with EAA preparation.
Apple Books has published accessibility guidelines and provides tools for publishers to check compliance. Apple tends to be more explicit about rejecting non-compliant content.
Kobo has updated its content quality requirements to reference accessibility standards directly.
The trend is clear: retailers are shifting from voluntary accessibility to enforced compliance.
What Happens If You Don't Comply?
The consequences come in two forms:
Retailer enforcement. Your book may be silently suppressed (reduced search visibility), flagged with a quality warning, or in extreme cases, removed from sale in EU markets. Amazon's approach tends toward suppression rather than removal, your book stays listed but becomes nearly invisible.
Regulatory enforcement. EU member states are responsible for enforcing the EAA through national market surveillance authorities. While enforcement has been slow to ramp up, it's expected to intensify. Penalties vary by country but can include fines and orders to remove non-compliant products from the market.
For most authors, the retailer-level consequences are the more immediate concern. A suppressed book loses sales every day it goes unfixed.
What You Should Do Now
Step 1: Scan Your Existing Catalog
Run every EPUB in your backlist through an accessibility checker. Tools like DAISY Ace (or web-based alternatives like Rahatt) will identify exactly what's missing.
Prioritize your best-selling titles first, these have the most to lose from suppression.
Step 2: Fix Identified Issues
The most common issues for existing EPUBs are:
- Missing accessibility metadata, add it to
content.opf - Missing alt text, describe your images
- Broken heading hierarchy, ensure headings step down sequentially
- Insufficient link contrast, update CSS to WCAG-compliant values
Most of these fixes can be applied without touching the book's content. It's primarily structural and metadata changes. Our step-by-step guide to fixing EPUB accessibility issues covers each fix in detail.
Step 3: Update Your Publishing Workflow
For new books going forward:
- Tell your formatter or designer that EAA compliance is required
- Include alt text writing in your production process
- Scan every EPUB before uploading to any retailer
- Keep a record of your accessibility efforts (useful if compliance is ever questioned)
Step 4: Re-upload Fixed Files
After fixing an EPUB, upload the corrected version to KDP and other retailers. Amazon typically re-reviews within 48-72 hours. Track your rankings before and after to confirm the suppression flag has been cleared.
The Silver Lining
The EAA might feel like yet another burden on authors, but there's a real upside: making your books accessible expands your potential readership. An estimated 87 million people in the EU have some form of disability. Accessible ebooks serve this audience directly.
Authors who get ahead of compliance also benefit from reduced friction with retailers. As enforcement tightens, having clean, accessible EPUBs means fewer surprises and more stable rankings.
Timeline Summary
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2019 | EAA directive adopted by EU |
| June 2022 | EU member states required to transpose into national law |
| June 2025 | EAA takes effect, compliance required |
| 2025+ | Enforcement ramps up across EU member states |
The compliance deadline has passed. If your ebooks aren't accessible, the time to act is now.