New
European Accessibility Act 2025
7 Frequently Asked Questions
1
"What does EAA Compliant mean for Video Accessibility?"
European Accessibility Act 2025
EAA mandates accessibility for people with disabilities or disadvantaged, for any video content sent over the internet. This means all online touch points, which include:
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Streaming Video Services
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Websites, Apps
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Connected TV Services
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e-Commerce Platforms
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Media Players
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Webinars
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Kiosks
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Any other Products that Use Video
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2
"What are the Important Compliance Dates?"
European New Video Compliance Starts: June 28, 2025
Any new Video Content, Streaming Video or Webinars, need to comply with the new 2025 EAA standards and regulations.
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European Previous Video Compliance Starts: June 28, 2030
Any previous Video Content won't need to comply with the new 2025 EAA standards and regulations until 2030. The regulation does state that any new video materials being accessed should get updated for accessibility as soon as possible, as it's being used, if you can.
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3
"What Happens if I Don't Comply with EAA?"
EAA is a common framework across the the European Union
Each country can decide how it wants to fine or prosecute for violations.
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​​Specific Penalties:
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Fines: Fines for non-compliance can range from €5,000 to €500,000, or even up to 5% of a company's annual global turnover, depending on the country and the severity of the violation.
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Market Removal: Non-compliant products or services can be removed from the EU market.
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Suspension of Business Operations: Some member states have the power to suspend a company's right to do business.
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Civil Liability: Individuals or organizations can take legal action against companies that fail to meet accessibility standards.
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Reputational Damage: Non-compliance can lead to public disclosure of non-compliance, harming a company's reputation.
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Accessibility Audits: Enforcement actions in some countries may include mandatory accessibility audits.
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Public Notices: Some countries may require public notices for non-compliance.
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Jail Time: In some cases, like in Ireland, non-compliance may lead to jail time.
Factors Influencing Penalties:
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Country-Specific Legislation: Each EU member state transposes the EAA into national legislation, leading to variations in penalties and enforcement.
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Severity of Violation: Penalties will vary depending on the severity of the accessibility issues.
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Repeat Violations: Repeated violations can lead to higher fines and more severe consequences.
Examples:
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Germany: Fines can reach up to €500,000.
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France: Fines can range from €5,000 to €250,000, and non-compliant businesses can be publicly exposed.
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Spain: Fines can range from €5,000 to €300,000.
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Ireland: Fines of up to €200,000 and potential jail time for some offenses.
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Finland: Fines can be as high as €150,000.
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Netherlands: Fines can be as high as €250,000.
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4
"Why can't I be compliant with just my current employees?"
Human-Driven approach makes it Impossible to be Compliant
The new EAA Video Regulations require 32 languages to stream live. Adding language translation and transcription afterwards is no longer an option to be compliant.
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The only way to achieve this new level of language accessibility is through the use of sophisticated video systems and highly advanced AI, working together at the speed of the video feed. This is obviously well past a human-driven approach.
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Because Streaming Compliance has pioneered so many other video systems, we were able to build the first AI-powered compliant video system that could function at the speeds necessary to be fully compliant.
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5
"Is Sign Language Available too?"
New, First of it's Kind, Streaming Sign Language Video is Available
As part of the EAA compliance, deaf people need sign language as a medium of communication because translations in word form often go by so quickly, they are not able to read the captions fast enough or capture the essence of what was said.
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Our Advanced AI will continually update the Sign Language translations to become better and adapt quickly as Sign Language is always changing.
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6
"What formats work with Streaming Compliance?"
One Engine. All Formats. Fully Automated
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Input:
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RTMP
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SRT live streams​
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Output:
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Real-Time captions (CEA-708)
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Multilingual audio + subtitles
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Binary sign language (BinSigML)
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API or Platform plug-in
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Built-In:
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Inhouse developed AI pipeline and sign language format
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State of the Art in Video CEA-708 Caption formatting
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AI hallucination filtering, low WER
7
"What industry standard caption formats are supported?"
We understand that different distribution platforms and regulations may require various caption formats. Our platform seamlessly supports industry standards, including 608, 708, WebVTT, and TTML, ensuring that our clients meet compliance requirements across any channel.