Israeli Standard (IS) 5568 Digital Accessibility Law - Everything you need to know!

Israel is way ahead of the rest of the world in terms of technology and digital accessibility because each company that operates in Israel is bound to adhere to Israel Standard (IS) 5568. Failing to conform to suggested standards results in stiff penalties for companies.

The law to govern web accessibility IS 5568 came into effect in 2017 after two years of its scheduled delay (its first version was supposed to be released in 2015).

IS 5568 aims to safeguard the rights and freedom of individuals with disabilities so that they can consume online content, avail its benefits, and live their lives independently.

Please read the article to understand IS 5568 and its requirements.

Overview of IS 5568 – a brief introduction!

The Israeli Standard (IS 5568) is based on the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities (ERPD) Act of 1998. The act focuses on people’s rights and discrimination against them. It evaluates accessibility guidelines for both private and government sectors.

The standard was approved by the Technical Committee, and it is subject to review once every five years to ensure its relevancy with modern tools and technologies.

Corrections or updates happen now and then in the original standard that gets published in the Official Gazette, can be a separate correction sheet or might be just an amendment.

Any update incorporated into IS 5568 comes into effect from the date of its publication in an official Gazette.

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Requirements of Israeli Standard (IS 5568) – what it entails!

The Israeli Standard (IS 5568) is the guidelines document of C3W (Climate Change Consortium Wales). The law is similar to the WCAG 2.0 standard because it has adapted its many guidelines with local modifications to gain universal acceptance.

Also, the C3W document was accepted by the international standard IEC/ISO 40500 (first edition) in 2012. The document is linked to the below address -

http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20

And its Hebrew translation is also available here - https://www.isoc.org.il/files/w3c.

The standard is made on the concept that websites are dynamic by nature and thereby they can deviate in their real-time performances. However, their regular maintenance and new updates implementation is essential to avoid errors.

A few mandatory requirements are:

• Time-based media require regular review to ensure its accessibility level, provided automated tools are available easily.
• Adding subtitles in Hebrew is possible for video content.
• It is preferred to allocate the resources to achieve accessibility at the stage of building the website.
• Directive 1.2 explains guidelines on time-based media. Audio or Video-only content (pre-recorded and live) must have a textual alternative to describe all the occurrences in the content and increase its understandability.
• Directive 2.4 discusses suggestions on content navigation.

Read the Official document to know more!

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Organizations ought to conform with IS 5568!

The Israeli standard applies to all products and services provided by government and private organizations. Every medium and large-sized institution established after 2017 with an annual average revenue of NIS 300,000 or more should be compliant with the law.

If small businesses also have an average annual income under NIS 300,000 ought to adhere to IS 5568.

The deadline to implement accessibility for these companies was October 2020. Thus, it is high time to incorporate accessibility into their inaccessible websites.

Private contractors with an average income of NIS 100,000 or less are exempted from conformance with IS 5568.

Israel is imposing non-compliance penalties and sanctions more strictly than most other countries. If inaccessible websites get sued in other countries, they are asked to make required remediations or maybe a minimum amount of fine. Whereas in Israel, courts may allow the complainant to ask for statutory damages of up to NIS 50,000.

Interestingly, the complainant is not expected to prove what problems they encountered while accessing the website.

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The Israeli government and non-profit organizations are supporting companies to implement accessibility laws. For instance, Access Israel hosts an annual conference on accessibility discussion in which leaders from different countries participate. Such events and activities empower companies with accessible products and encourage others to include accessibility in their processes.

Along with adherence to IS 5568, organizations are also required to disclose what accessibility arrangements they’ve made for their websites. It is a statement that helps disabled users to decide if they can utilize the website or not.

Another requirement is that organizations should publish the contact information of their accessibility coordinator on the websites. So that if people with disabilities encounter any accessibility issues, they can contact coordinators and give suggestions to eliminate the issues.

Israel is emerging as a web accessibility leader!

According to the World Health Organization, approx. 1 billion people across the world need assistive products to access online information and Israel is one such country that is proactively fulfilling their assistive technology requirement.

Israel has been proving its global leadership in technological innovation and cyber security for many years and now it is heading towards becoming a leader in web accessibility as well. Their considerable progress in IS 5568 incorporation and assistive technology innovation is evident. So, Israel is in a strong position to display its web accessibility results to global audiences and set a benchmark for the world.

Skynet Technologies, a proud associate member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) and a recognized participant in W3C takes immense pride in its valuable contributions to the global accessibility community.

Whether you require quick accessibility improvements or a complete overhaul of your website accessibility, you can count on us to meet your requirements. As an ADA website accessibility remediation service provider company, we offer full ADA web accessibility services, including design, audit, consulting, remediation, support, and ongoing maintenance.

Reach out at [email protected] or request an ADA website accessibility quote. Our mission revolves around aiding you in enhancing the accessibility of your digital presence and improving inclusivity for all.