EUROPEAN ACCESSIBILITY ACT · EN 301 549
WCAG-conformant audio playback for your website. (coming soon)
The European Accessibility Act has been enforced since 28 June 2025, and EN 301 549 maps directly to WCAG 2.1 AA. ResponsiveVoice gives your site a conformant audio player — plus the documentation to support your accessibility effort. It is one honest part of your accessibility stack, not a compliance shortcut.
WCAG 2.1 AA player UI · Keyboard operable · Conformance documentation
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What the law actually requires
Accessibility is now enforced, not advisory
The European Accessibility Act sets a baseline for digital products and services across the EU. For your written content, an accessible audio alternative is part of meeting it — and where you offer audio, the player itself has to be conformant.
A player built to the standard
Audio your visitors can actually operate
The player is the part of audio accessibility that is genuinely in our control — so we built it to WCAG 2.1 AA: every control reachable and usable by keyboard, visible focus states, ARIA roles and labels on play, pause and seek, and sufficient colour contrast in the default theme. Try it, then tab through it.
- Keyboard operable
- Visible focus
- ARIA labelled
An audio version of this article
Some visitors have low vision, dyslexia, or a temporary reason they cannot read right now. A clearly labelled audio option lets them listen to the same content instead.
ResponsiveVoice follows the reader through the article, highlights the current passage, and lets them jump directly to the part they care about — using the keyboard or a pointer.
Press play above, or click a paragraph to continue from there.
Press Listen, or choose a paragraph to start from there.
Honest scope
What ResponsiveVoice covers — and what it doesn’t
No single tool makes a website accessible. We are deliberately clear about where our scope begins and ends, because that honesty is what earns trust with auditors and the accessibility community.
What we cover
The audio layer, done to standard.
- Real-time audio playback of your written content, in 50+ languages.
- A player UI built to WCAG 2.1 AA: keyboard operable, visible focus, ARIA roles and labels, sufficient contrast.
- A conformant default theme and the option to remove ResponsiveVoice branding.
- Audit-ready usage reporting you can file as evidence of accessibility effort.
- An Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR / VPAT) for the player against EN 301 549.
What we don’t cover
The rest of your accessibility stack.
- Semantic HTML and correct document structure.
- Colour contrast across the rest of your pages.
- Alt text for your images and media.
- Keyboard navigation of your wider site.
- Screen-reader behaviour outside the player.
We cover audio — well — and tell you honestly where our scope ends. For the rest, an accessibility audit or remediation partner is the right next step, and we are glad to be one documented, conformant component of that effort.
The offer
Accessibility Pro
Everything procurement and auditors ask for, packaged around the conformant player — the documentation, the reporting, and the support that turn audio into a defensible part of your accessibility effort.
or $1490 / year — two months free
- Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR / VPAT) for the player against EN 301 549.
- Audit-ready usage reports — evidence of audio coverage across your site.
- ResponsiveVoice branding removal and a conformant default theme.
- Priority support with a response-time SLA.
- 100+ voices across 50+ languages, browser and API integrations.
Prefer to pay yearly? Get the annual plan — $1490 / year.
Want the paperwork first? View the conformance statement (ACR / VPAT).
Conformance statement is being finalised — link is a placeholder until it is published.
Questions auditors and buyers ask
EAA audio accessibility, answered
Does ResponsiveVoice make my website EAA compliant?
No — and any tool that claims to is overclaiming. Compliance with the European Accessibility Act depends on your whole site: structure, contrast, alt text, keyboard navigation, and more. ResponsiveVoice provides WCAG-conformant audio playback and the documentation to support your compliance effort. We cover the audio part well and are honest that the rest is also in scope of the law.
What does the European Accessibility Act require for audio on a website?
The EAA, implemented through EN 301 549 (which references WCAG 2.1 AA), expects digital content to be perceivable and operable for people with disabilities. Offering an accessible audio alternative to written content supports that goal — and where you provide an audio player, that player must itself be operable by keyboard, perceivable, and properly labelled. That player conformance is exactly what ResponsiveVoice delivers.
Is text to speech required by WCAG 2.1 AA?
WCAG 2.1 AA does not mandate text to speech by name. But providing a clear audio alternative broadens access for people with low vision, dyslexia, or situational limitations, and supports several success criteria. The firm requirement is that any interactive component you add — including an audio or text-to-speech player — meets the standard. ResponsiveVoice’s player is built to that bar.
How is this different from an accessibility overlay?
Overlays claim to fix an entire site automatically and have drawn regulators and lawsuits (the FTC’s $1M accessiBe settlement in January 2025). ResponsiveVoice is not an overlay. It adds one conformant capability — audio playback of your content — and makes no claim about the rest of your site. That narrow, honest scope is the point.
What is EN 301 549, and how does it relate to WCAG?
EN 301 549 is the European standard for accessibility of ICT products and services. For web content it incorporates WCAG 2.1 Level AA, so meeting WCAG 2.1 AA is how you meet the web portions of EN 301 549. ResponsiveVoice maintains an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR / VPAT) describing the player against this standard.
Add conformant audio to your accessibility stack
Give every visitor another way to take in your content — with a player built to WCAG 2.1 AA and the documentation to back it up.
