Regulation 35 of the Equal Rights for Handicapped Persons (Adjustments to Accessibility of Services) Regulations, 5773-2013 (the "Regulations") provides that a person who provides a 'public service' or information concerning a 'public service' by means of the internet to the general public, including documents, pages, applications and all other information transferred via the internet, will provide adjustments for access to the services or information about the services it provides according to the customary Israeli standard.[1]
The adjustments to the accessibility enable persons with various disabilities, such as blindness, those for whom hand movement is difficult, those with cognitive disabilities and those with hearing difficulties, to make efficient use of the services and information offered on the internet sites.
As noted, according to the Regulations, it is necessary to carry out adjustments to the accessibility to the internet site which provides 'public services' (as that term is defined in the Equal Rights for Handicapped Persons Law, 5758-1998) and information concerning such public services. According to Section 19 I of the Law, public services are services which are provided to the public or to an unspecified part of the public by a public body or in a public place or services which are listed in the Second Annex to the Law. This list includes: commercial services, social services, health services, educational services, leisure services, sports, tourism, accommodation, cultural, entertainment, religious, energy, communications, banking, credit, insurance, financing and vehicle rental services.
If the services or information concerning the services are provided via a platform of a third party – such as Facebook, Google or Apple – the provider of the services will carry out only such adjustments for accessibility, which can be carried out via such platform. For example, if the platform allows a choice of colors then it is necessary to ensure that the text is in a color which is sufficient bold to stand out from the background. It is not only the web-sites which require accessibility, but also the documents, pages, applications and all services or information concerning services provided via the internet.
The person who is required to enable accessibility of the services provided via the internet is the owner of the services, the holder or the actual operator thereof. This means, the owner, holder or actual operator of the site is obliged to ensure that it or the person providing the site construction services or applications or the person creating the contents, will ensure the accessibility requirements are in place.
The parties required to provide accessibility are:
- Private entities operating for a profit such as a company or authorized dealer.
- Public authorities, such as government Ministries or local authorities.
- Not-for-profit entities such as Amutot providing services to the public.
The Regulations apply to services both of a large scope and small, while taking into account the resources available to the provider of the services. Providers of services asking for an exemption from such accessibility due to the economic burden of providing such accessibility are entitled to file an application for exemption with the Commissioner of Equal Rights for Handicapped Persons.
Timetable:
- An existing site has a period of 36 months from the entry into force of the Regulations to be made accessible - ie: until 25.10.16.
- Additions and changes to an existing site, which were added up to 24 months from the commencement of the Regulations (ie: until 25.10.15) – are to be made accessible by 36 months from the date of entry into force of the Regulations - ie: by 25.10.16.
- New internet service, which was uploaded within 24 months from the commencement of the Regulations (ie: by 25.10.15) – is to be made accessible by 36 months from the date of entry into force of the Regulations - ie: by 25.10.16.
- A new site or addition to an existing site which was uploaded as from 24 months from the commencement of the Regulations (ie: after 25.10.2015) will be made immediately accessible.
For the sake of clarification: each site or part thereof which was uploaded before October 25, 2015, will be made accessible by October 25, 2016; and each site or part thereof which was uploaded after October 25, 2015, will be made accessible immediately.
The Law imposes substantial sanctions for failing to provide the accessibility. The Court is entitled to order compensation in an amount of NIS 50,000 without proof of damages.
It is recommended that entities will seek legal advice as soon as possible to check whether they meet the accessibility requirements. Contact information is provided below.
Reference: Equal Rights for Handicapped Persons (Adjustments to Accessibility of Services) Regulations, 5773-2013
[1] An accessible site according to the Service Accessibility Regulations is a site in which adjustments were carried out according to Israeli Standard 5568. The Israeli Standard is an adoption of the international guidelines – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines – of the international W3C organization (a translation into Hebrew of the Guidelines is available on the following website.
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