Information Accessibility

Accessibility of information and services in the sense of "accessibility" is the way information and services are published and operated so that all people, including users with specific needs, in particular people with disabilities (hereafter referred to as "PWD"), can engage with them on an equal basis. These people use modern technology based on traditional devices such as a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone, but they have so-called "Assistive Software" on them, which allows them to fully engage with the internet when the relevant services, applications and information are accessible.

Accessibility is addressed on three levels in accordance with the principles of "Governance accessibility":

1. Accessibility of public administration services
2. Accessibility of websites, mobile applications, information systems and information used by the public, including PWD
3. Accessibility of information systems used by officials and employees, including PWD

We implement accessibility so that PWDs can also use services and information on an equal basis as people without any disability or specific needs. Accessibility in public administration is one of the basic social obligations, implementing a set of fundamental rights and the need to prevent discrimination against certain persons.

Information accessibility is then a purely technical discipline that tells how information systems and their user interfaces and functions should be built so that the output is information in an accessible form (from a technical point of view). Information accessibility itself does not interfere in any way with the actual creation of information, but with the way it is presented and published externally. It is a set of techniques, recommendations, standards, rules and practices that are followed to ensure that information and services in electronic form can be interacted with by the widest possible group of people.

The legislative framework for accessibility obligations is quite broad. Only the key regulations that have a direct impact on accessibility of information are listed below:

1. General level
   1. International directly applicable Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
   2. Act No. 198/2009 Coll., on Equal Treatment and Legal Means of Protection against Discrimination
2. Level of basic services
   1. Procedural and administrative regulations, such as Act No. 500/2004 Coll., Administrative Code, etc.
   2. Act No. 155/1998 Coll., on communication systems for deaf and deaf-blind persons
   3. EU Regulation No. 910/2014 of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market (in particular Article 15)
   4. Act No 300/2008 Coll. on electronic transactions and authorised document conversion
3. Level of websites and mobile applications
   1. Act No 99/2019 Coll. on accessibility of websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies
   2. Act No. 365/2000 Coll., on information systems of public administration (in particular § 5, paragraph 2, letter f), § 9, and others)
   3. Partial legislation on the filing service
4. Level of implementation of public procurement
   1. Act No 134/2016 Coll., on public procurement (in particular § 93)

In general, the legislation gives the following rights to PWDs and obligations to the public administration:

1. PWDs must be able to use all public administration services as anyone else
2. PWDs must be able to make full use of the electronic services of the state and the electronic services of public sector bodies
3. There is a general absolute obligation to make the results of all public procurement or contracts accessible under public procurement legislation, if the results are intended for any use by individuals, this of course also applies to all ICT procurement in general.
4. Public sector bodies must make their information accessible, in particular on their websites and applications
5. Accessibility also applies to all information systems for employees, as even an employee with a PWD must not be discriminated against by not being able to work with their work system

There are technical standards and methodologies that specify specific technical practices for creating and managing accessible content. The most important in the field of information systems are the following:

• WCAG - Web content accessibility guidelines - A basic standard for content accessibility.
• WAI-ARIA: Standard Accessible Rich Internet Applications suite - Standard for web applications
• MAAP - Mobile accessibility applications principles - A set of accessibility measures for mobile applications (again, detailed standards are available for each platform)

You can read more about the standards and their implementation at in the Standards and Standards section of pristupnost-informaci.cz

On a general level, it can be stated that accessibility, both for websites and for information systems, is a matter for the supplier. If a given information system, application or website service is requested as part of a public contract, then both the general obligations set out in the legislation on public procurement and the technical details set out in the legislation on accessibility of websites and mobile applications apply. Therefore, the basic architectural solution is to include the need for accessibility and the fulfilment of specific technical standards as a non-negotiable requirement within the architecture and within the requirements for the supplier. It is therefore necessary to architecturally and implement:

• That all websites (whether public or not) meet accessibility requirements.
• That all mobile applications meet accessibility requirements.
• That all applications, systems and information systems delivered in any form of public investment also meet accessibility requirements.
• That electronic filing systems, agency information systems and other applications and processes are set up so that digital documents sent by the organisation are accessible.
• Make accessibility requirements an integral part of delivery and procurement requirements as well as internal development requirements.