Industry · Media & Publishing

Accessibility requirements for Media & Publishing websites

News and media sites face accessibility scrutiny on time-based media (captions, transcripts, audio descriptions) more than other sectors. Paywalls and login flows are also hot spots.

Regulations that apply

Media & Publishing sits at the intersection of general digital-accessibility law and sector-specific obligations. The most relevant items to track:

  • EAA — e-books and e-readers

    Direct mention in the EAA scope.

    EU
  • ADA Title III

    Applied via case law to news sites.

    US

The accessibility risks specific to Media & Publishing

Every industry has its own failure pattern. The combination below is what audits, complaints, and lawsuits in this sector keep returning to. Fixing them clears the most-cited issues without touching every page.

  • Auto-playing video with sound

    Violates 1.4.2 and disorients users.

    1.4.2
  • Articles behind paywall modals that are not keyboard-accessible

    Even readable previews fail if the upgrade modal traps focus.

    2.1.2

A short remediation checklist

Most Media & Publishing teams do not need a 200-item audit before they fix anything. They need an ordered list of the highest-impact moves. Start with these and re-audit after each pass.

  • Caption every video, including archival

  • Audit paywall modals

Run a free Certvo scan against your homepage and one task-flow URL (login, checkout, booking). It pinpoints which of the issues above apply to you, and how often.

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