Royal Decree 1112/2018 on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of the public sector

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS MINISTRY OF THE PRESIDENCY, RELATIONS WITH THE CORTES AND EQUALITY 12699 Royal Decree 1112/2018, of September 7, on the accessibility of websites and mobile applications of the public sector.

The Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies aims, in order to improve the functioning of the internal market, to approximate the legal, regulatory and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to accessibility requirements, understanding accessibility as a set of principles and techniques that must be respected when designing, building, maintaining and updating websites and mobile applications.

The Directive covers all websites and mobile applications of the public sector, from those of the State Administration, Regional and Local Administrations, Courts and constitutional bodies to those of the services managed by them such as Hospitals, Schools, Universities, Public Libraries, etc.

In this context, the Directive requires that the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies be based on common accessibility requirements established at European level, putting an end to market fragmentation and the technical differentiation currently existing, preventing countries from applying different versions, levels of compliance or having technical differences at national level, reducing the uncertainty of developers and fostering interoperability. All these aspects should result in an increase in the internal market potential of products and services related to the accessibility of websites and mobile applications and, therefore, contribute to economic growth and job creation in the European Union.

To achieve this objective and ensure that citizens benefit from broader access to public sector services through increasingly accessible websites and mobile applications, the Directive establishes mandatory minimum accessibility requirements and adopts rules applicable to the design, construction, maintenance and updating of such websites and mobile applications. In turn, the preparation, periodic updating and publication of an accessibility statement on the conformity of their websites and mobile applications with the established minimum accessibility requirements is imposed, facilitating adaptation to the state of the art at any given time. However, the Directive contemplates exceptions to compliance with these requirements when they constitute a disproportionate burden for the body, without in any case the lack of priority, time or knowledge being considered as legitimate grounds for the exception.

On the other hand, to guarantee compliance with the provisions established in this directive, each Member State is required to create a communication mechanism linked to an enforcement procedure that allows any user of a website or mobile application of a public sector body to report the existence of non-compliance with accessibility requirements, file complaints and make suggestions. As well as the establishment of a body, responsible for the enforcement procedure, that guarantees that the communications and requests received are treated effectively.

Likewise, Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of 26 October 2016 imposes on Member States the obligation to establish a system for monitoring and periodic reporting to the European Commission, the adoption of promotion, training and awareness measures on accessibility for all those involved and hierarchical managers and, finally, invites Member States to extend the scope of their rules to other types of websites and mobile applications.

From a regulatory point of view, the need to regulate basic accessibility conditions for the use of services related to the information society is recognized for the first time in our internal legal order in Law 51/2003, of December 2, on equal opportunities, non-discrimination and universal accessibility of persons with disabilities, which set a two-year deadline for the Government to establish them. The provisions of that law, currently repealed, are included in the Consolidated Text of the General Law of Persons with Disabilities and their Social Inclusion, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013, of November 29.

Subsequently, on December 4, 2005, the Council of Ministers adopted by Agreement the 2006-2010 Plan for the development of the information society and convergence with Europe and between autonomous communities and cities with Statute of Autonomy (Plan Avanza), which included a mandate addressed to the then Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade and the Ministry of Public Administrations to draft a draft royal decree regulating these basic conditions. The result of this mandate is the Regulation on the basic conditions for the access of persons with disabilities to technologies, products and services related to the information society and social media, approved by Royal Decree 1494/2007, of November 12, which includes in its Chapter III specific measures on accessibility for the Internet pages of Public Administrations or entities with public funding.

There are also other norms that refer to the accessibility requirements of the websites of Public Administrations for which this new royal decree will lay the foundations. Some of them are Law 34/2002, of July 11, on Information Society Services and Electronic Commerce, Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector, Law 19/2013, of December 9, on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance, Law 18/2011, of July 5, regulating the use of information and communication technologies in the Administration of Justice, Law 27/2007, of October 23, recognizing Spanish sign languages and regulating support means for oral communication of deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind persons, and Law 9/2017, of November 8, on Public Sector Contracts, which transposes into the Spanish legal order Directives 2014/23/EU and 2014/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014. This royal decree complements Royal Decree 1494/2007, of November 12, and for this purpose it repeals the articles of the regulation that refer to the accessibility of internet pages, articles 5, 6 and 7, and develops them in greater detail. Therefore, this Regulation collects the aspects relating to the minimum accessibility requirements of the websites and mobile applications of the public sector, adopting the necessary measures to comply with the provisions of Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of 26 October 2016, and thus continue to guarantee that accessibility and non-discrimination, in general and especially for persons with disabilities in their relations with the public sector, are real and effective. To this end, in addition to establishing the minimum requirements that must be met and incorporating the rest of the actions provided for in the Directive, this royal decree establishes the system through which users can communicate to the public sector body any possible non-compliance by its website or mobile application with the established accessibility requirements and which also allows interested parties, upon reasonable and legitimate request, to obtain information on content that is excluded from the scope of application of this royal decree or exempt from compliance with accessibility requirements due to imposing a disproportionate burden.

The possibility of resorting to the Ombudsman as proposed by the Directive in its article 9 is already included in current Spanish regulation and is reflected in Organic Law 3/1981, of April 6, of the Ombudsman, which provides for the possibility of filing complaints with the Ombudsman for the defense of the rights of Title I of the Spanish Constitution, and relating to the functioning of the Administration, which includes the actions of the entire public sector in matters of accessibility with the level of obligations imposed at any time by the current regulation.

There is also the Office for Attention to Disability in accordance with what is provided in the consolidated text of the General Law of Rights of Persons with Disabilities and their Social Inclusion, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013, of November 29. This Office is the body of the National Council on Disability, of a permanent and specialized nature, responsible for promoting equal opportunities, non-discrimination and universal accessibility of persons with disabilities and performs the functions of advice, analysis and study of complaints, reports and queries presented by persons with disabilities in the fields of telecommunications and the information society, among others.

On the other hand, this royal decree also incorporates, in an additional provision, the requirements imposed on the Internet pages of entities, companies and centers that provide public services through a public concession, or some other contractual route with the Administration.

Likewise, also in an additional provision, the accessibility criteria applicable to the websites and mobile applications of the constitutional bodies of the State and of the autonomous legislative and control bodies are established, by adapting their specific regulations to what is established in this royal decree, and always, in accordance with what is established therein.

With regard to its entry into force, the Directive gives flexibility to Member States requiring that as a minimum all provisions for new websites be applied before September 23, 2019 and for all websites before September 23, 2020. Considering that in Spain we start from existing legislation in which for websites a large part of these requirements were already being demanded, the entry into force of this royal decree has been designed giving continuity to the provisions of Royal Decree 1494/2007, of November 12. Thus, in the Spanish context, a phased introduction has been opted for on the same terms as the Directive only for aspects related to the management of complaints and claims and mobile applications. Also, in response to requests received from the disability sector, some of the deadlines provided for in the Directive have been advanced. In any case, the provisions of this royal decree have been temporarily adapted to make it possible to respond in time and form to the European Commission with regard to monitoring and reporting. This royal decree has the character of basic legislation under the provisions of article 149.1.1st and 18th of the Spanish Constitution.

In the elaboration of this royal decree, reports have been requested from the Territorial Council of Social Services and the System for Autonomy and Care for Dependence, the State Council of Older Persons, the National Council on Disability, in which representative organizations of persons with disabilities are represented, the Council of Consumers and Users, the State Council of Non-Governmental Organizations for Social Action, the Sectoral Commission for Electronic Administration of the Sectoral Conference for Public Administration, the ICT Strategy Commission of the General State Administration and the State Technical Committee of Electronic Judicial Administration.

This royal decree, which according to article 25 of Law 50/1997, of November 27, of the Government, is included in the 2018 Annual Regulatory Plan, assumes the mandate of transposition of Directive (EU) 2016/2012 of 26 October 2016. The transposition has been based on the principles of good regulation provided for in article 129 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations. In particular, it adjusts to the principle of necessity and effectiveness by fulfilling the obligation of incorporation into national law with fidelity to the text of the directive; as well as to the principles of proportionality, by containing the regulation essential for the purpose pursued, transparency, insofar as it strengthens the guarantees surrounding it and favors its compliance, as well as legal certainty, since it is carried out with the aim of maintaining a stable, predictable, integrated and clear regulatory framework.

In virtue thereof, on the proposal of the Minister of Territorial Policy and Public Function, the Minister of Economy and Business and the Minister of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare, in agreement with the Council of State and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers in its meeting of September 7, 2018,

I HEREBY ORDER:

CHAPTER I General Provisions

Article 1. Object.

1. This royal decree aims to guarantee the accessibility requirements of the websites and mobile applications of the public sector bodies and other obliged parties included in the scope of application of article 2.
2. For the purposes of this royal decree, accessibility is understood as the set of principles and techniques that must be respected when designing, building, maintaining and updating websites and mobile applications to guarantee equality and non-discrimination in access for users, in particular for persons with disabilities and older persons.

Article 2. Subjective scope.

1. This royal decree applies to the public sector comprising: a) The General State Administration. b) The Administrations of the autonomous communities. c) The entities that make up the Local Administration. d) The institutional public sector, under the terms established in article 2.2 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations. e) Associations constituted by the Administrations, entities, bodies and entities that make up the public sector.
2. The provisions of this royal decree shall also apply to the Administration of Justice.

Article 3. Objective scope of application.

1. This royal decree applies both to websites, regardless of the device used to access them, and to mobile applications of the public sector bodies and other obliged parties included in the scope of application of article 2.
2. The accessible content of websites and mobile applications includes both textual and non-textual information, documents and forms that can be downloaded, pre-recorded time-based multimedia content, bidirectional interaction forms, the processing of digital forms and the completion of identification, authentication, signature and payment processes regardless of the technological platform used to make them available to the public.
3. The following are excluded from this royal decree and shall be regulated by their specific legislation: live and pre-recorded time-based multimedia content of websites and mobile applications of providers of the public radio broadcasting service and their subsidiaries, as well as those of other bodies or their subsidiaries that fulfill a public service mandate for radio broadcasting.
4. Likewise, the following content is excluded from the scope of application of this royal decree: a) Office file formats published before the entry into force of this royal decree, unless they are necessary for active administrative tasks related to the functions performed by the subjects obliged by this royal decree. b) Pre-recorded time-based multimedia content published before the entry into force of this royal decree. c) Live time-based multimedia content except as provided for in other specific legislation that obliges to this effect. d) Map and cartography services online, provided that essential information is provided in an accessible digital manner in the case of maps intended for navigation purposes. e) Third-party content that is not funded or developed by the obliged subject nor under its control. f) Reproductions of heritage collection goods that cannot be made fully accessible for any of the following reasons:
5. Incompatibility of accessibility requirements with the conservation of the good in question or with the authenticity of the reproduction.
6. Unavailability of automated and cost-effective solutions that allow extracting text from manuscripts or other heritage collection goods and transforming them into content compatible with accessibility requirements. g) Extranet and intranet content understood as websites accessible only to a restricted group of people and not to the general public, published before September 23, 2019, until such websites are subject to a substantial review. h) Content of websites and mobile applications that have the status of archives or archive tools by containing only content not necessary for the development of any active administrative tasks, provided that they have not been updated or edited after the entry into force of this royal decree.

Article 4. Definitions. For the purposes of this royal decree, the following are understood: a) Website: It is a set of electronic files and web pages referring to a particular topic under a specific domain name to which access is made using a web browser. b) Mobile Applications: They are computer applications designed and developed to be used by the general public on mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. They do not include the software that controls said devices (mobile operating systems) nor the computer equipment. c) Office File: They are documents that are not intended, in principle, to be used on the web, but are included in websites, which may be made, among others, in standard Portable Document Format (PDF), or having been prepared using word processors, spreadsheets or applications for making presentations. d) Heritage Collection Goods: They are public or private property goods that present historical, archaeological, aesthetic, scientific or technical interest and that form part of collections conserved by cultural institutions such as libraries, archives and museums. e) Content of websites and mobile applications: It is the information, both textual and non-textual, documents and forms that can be downloaded, as well as bidirectional interaction forms, such as the processing of digital forms and the completion of identification, authentication, signature and payment processes. f) Time-based multimedia content: They are multimedia files that can be of the following types: Audio only, video only, audio and video, or any of the above combined with interaction. g) Pre-recorded multimedia content: They are time-based multimedia content broadcast live that remains online or is re-broadcast after its live transmission, immediately after the date of the initial broadcast or the new broadcast. h) Measurement data: They are the quantified results of the monitoring activity carried out in order to check the conformity of websites and mobile applications with the required accessibility requirements. They include both quantitative information on the samples of websites and mobile applications checked and quantitative information on the level of accessibility. i) Standard: They are technical specifications adopted by a recognized standardization body, of repeated or continuous application, whose observance is not mandatory. j) European Standard: It is a standard adopted by a European standardization organization. k) Harmonized Standard: It is a European standard adopted following a request from the European Commission for the application of European Union harmonization legislation. l) Perceivability: It is the accessibility principle that requires that information and user interface components be presented to users in a way that they can perceive. m) Operability: It is the accessibility principle that requires that user interface components and navigation can be used by any user. n) Understandability: It is the accessibility principle that requires that information and the operation of the user interface be understandable by any user. ñ) Robustness: It is the accessibility principle that requires that content be sufficiently robust to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

Article 5. Requirements for the accessibility of websites and mobile applications.

1. The websites and mobile applications of the entities obliged included in the scope of application of this royal decree must be accessible for their users and, in particular, for older persons and persons with disabilities, so that their content is p