Information and communication technologies (ICT) have an important place in modern life. More and more people are living and working in digitally connected environments. They are increasingly using mobile apps in different areas of life – in education and training, at work, in public life and in their leisure time.

The accelerating digital transformation is seeing services increasingly shifted to the digital space. But this transformation also poses the risk of certain groups of people – including people with disabilities, older people or those with different educational backgrounds – being left behind. The App Accessibility Study by the ‘Access for All’ Foundation shows that this risk often arises due to a lack of accessibility. The threat of digital exclusion must be addressed; we must create a digital world in which all people, regardless of their abilities or limitations, can participate freely and with equal opportunities.

Access to digital services is a priority of the Federal Council’s 2023–2026 disability policy. This disability policy is underpinned by a vision of a Switzerland where all persons with disabilities can lead a equal and self-determined life, participating fully in public, economic and social life. Around one fifth of the resident population of Switzerland lives with a disability – that includes children, young people and the elderly. The Federal Council is of the opinion that new rules are needed in order to comprehensively and rapidly eliminate avoidable disadvantages. In March 2023, it instructed the Federal Department of Home Affairs FDHA to submit a draft for a partial revision of the Federal Disability Equality Act (BehiG) by the end of 2023. The revision of BehiG aims, among other things, to enable people with additional needs to access digital services. The focus has now been extended beyond the digital services provided by the state – specifically to publicly offered services provided by private firms. Private companies will be required to make reasonable efforts to enable people with disabilities to access these digital services without difficulty. In the context of this partial revision of the BehiG, protection against disadvantage is supplemented by the priority programmes ‘Participation,’ ‘Work,’ ‘Housing’ and ‘Services’.

At the heart of the ‘Services’ programme is the establishment of a digital inclusion network. This envisioned networking is intended as a means of forming a broad alliance that will contribute to the promotion of digital inclusion, facilitate access to digital services and encourage the country’s inhabitants to take an active part in digital life. The focus is on identifying and removing barriers as well as empowering individuals.

Unfortunately, the results of the 2023 App Accessibility Study conducted by the ‘Access for All’ Foundation confirm that the accessibility of popular mobile apps in Switzerland is still not a given. There is an urgent need for action.

One area which wasn’t covered in the App Accessibility Study, but which also poses an issue for many people, is barriers of understanding. Many people find that content is hard to understand. Here, alternative forms of communication such as easy language for people with intellectual disabilities or learning difficulties and information in the form of sign language videos for deaf people can help individuals to understand the core content independently – even within mobile apps.

Accessibility to information and communication technologies is an important cornerstone of an inclusive society. We must seize this opportunity – in the interests of people with disabilities and of all of us.

About the author

Markus Riesch Markus Riesch has been Head of the E-Accessibility Office at the Federal Office for Equality for Persons with Disabilities EBGB (located in the Federal Department of the Interior) since 2015. Back in 2004 he worked on the development of the P028 Standard and in 2005 he applied to the eCH Specialist Group for Accessibility, which he has led ever since.