The European Accessibility Act: Why PR teams need to act now

When the European Accessibility Act (EAA) came into effect on 28 June, it did more than create legal obligations, it fundamentally shifted how audiences judge brands. For PR and communications professionals, this isn't just another compliance checkbox. It's a visibility deadline that's already passed, and every inaccessible event or campaign is now a reputational risk waiting to happen.

Why the EAA matters to PR professionals

The EAA affects everything that PR teams touch: live events, mobile apps, video content, social media campaigns, and virtual presentations. While full enforcement rolls out, audience expectations have already shifted. Your stakeholders are watching who gets this right.

Consider this: if your brand event can't be followed by deaf audiences, or your livestream lacks captions, you're not just non-compliant, you're invisible to millions. In the UK alone, that's one in four people with disabilities, and across the EU, it's 87 million citizens who could be excluded from your message.

The stakes for PR teams

Immediate reputational risk: Inaccessible events are increasingly called out on social media. One viral post about an exclusionary experience can undo months of positive PR work.

Competitive disadvantage: While UK companies may argue they're not legally bound by the EAA, those who embrace it will win more business globally than those who don't. Inclusive brands attract better press, stronger partnerships, and deeper loyalty.

Lost opportunity: Accessibility is becoming a key differentiator in brand storytelling. It's not just about avoiding criticism; it's about leading the conversation on inclusion.

The gap between intention and reality

Here's what makes this particularly challenging for PR teams: the current landscape offers poor choices. Automatic AI captions often fail at the worst moments—mangling executive names, missing context, or breaking during critical announcements. Yet professional human captioning has traditionally been expensive and complex to implement.

This gap leaves PR professionals in an impossible position: risk brand integrity with poor-quality captions, or blow budgets on services that require technical expertise most teams don't have.

A practical path forward

The European Accessibility Act isn't just a legal deadline, it's a visibility deadline. Your audience is already watching who gets this right. PR teams that act now aren't just avoiding risk; they're building trust.

What PR teams should do today

Audit your current state: Review your recent events, campaigns, and digital content. What percentage was genuinely accessible? Not just technically compliant, but truly inclusive? And crucially, what budget did you allocate for accessibility? If it wasn’t a line item from the start, it’s time to build it into every project budget going forward.

Build accessibility into brief templates: Start requiring accessibility specifications in every creative brief, event plan, and campaign proposal. Make it as standard as asking for brand guidelines.

Choose solutions that scale: Look for technology that bridges the gap between quality and practicality. The new generation of platforms offer browser-based solutions that combine human accuracy with AI flexibility, all without requiring downloads, special hardware, or technical expertise.

Make it part of your story: Stop treating accessibility as a backend requirement. Progressive brands are making inclusion part of their narrative, showcasing how they're expanding access and reaching new audiences.

The business case is clear

Companies need to understand that the EAA has teeth. Penalties for non-compliance vary by country but can be substantial. More importantly, the court of public opinion moves faster than any legal system.

UK suppliers and companies that don't take this seriously risk damaging their ability to do business in Europe. Even if the UK hasn't adopted identical legislation, any organisation working with European partners or hosting events in EU countries falls under these requirements.

US streaming companies are pushing the EAA heavily to sell their services, but UK companies seem to be letting it pass them by. That's a competitive blind spot that smart PR teams can exploit. The next generation demands inclusion and won’t spend their money where it doesn’t exist, making accessibility not just a legal requirement but a commercial imperative too.

Beyond compliance: The opportunity

This moment represents more than risk mitigation. For PR professionals who act decisively, the EAA creates opportunities to:

• Position your brand as an inclusion leader.
• Expand audience reach by 20% or more.
• Generate positive stories about accessibility innovation.
• Build partnerships with disability advocacy groups.
• Demonstrate genuine ESG commitment.

The first ever Accessibility Event Show on 18 September exemplifies this shift, with major corporates like HSBC stepping up as sponsors, signalling that accessibility is now a boardroom priority. It's not just about meeting requirements; it’s about showcasing accessibility as innovation.

The time to act is now

The European Accessibility Act has already changed the game. While enforcement continues rolling out, audience expectations have shifted immediately. PR teams that wait for perfect clarity or assume this doesn't apply to them are missing the point.

Every inaccessible event is a missed opportunity. Every excluded audience member is a potential critic. But every inclusive experience is a chance to build trust, expand reach, and lead the conversation.

The brands that win won't be those that eventually comply, they'll be those that embrace accessibility as a core part of their communication strategy today.

Orla Pearson is the co-founder of AccessLOOP, a browser-based platform that makes live events instantly accessible through human and AI captioning. With over 30 years in the captioning industry, including 15 years at the BBC, she's a leading voice in accessibility innovation.