Accessibility since June 2025, AI labelling since August 2026, German e-invoicing from 2027. If your site serves people in the EU, here is every rule with its date, its legal basis and whether it reaches you, plus the post where we explain it in full.
As of 23 September 2026. We update the overview whenever something changes.
| Since or from | Rule | Who it applies to | Legal basis | Read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in force | Consent before storing or reading non-essential data on the device | Every site that uses cookies or similar for statistics, video embeds, maps or ads | ePrivacy Directive, Art. 5(3) | |
| in force | Privacy notice | Every site that processes personal data of people in the EU | GDPR, Art. 13 | |
| 28 June 2025 | Accessibility to WCAG 2.1 AA | Online shops, bookings and contracts with EU consumers, micro service providers exempt | European Accessibility Act | Accessible website |
| 2 August 2026 | Disclosure for AI images that would pass as real, and for AI chats | Anyone publishing such content or running an AI chat for people in the EU | EU AI Act, Art. 50 | Labelling AI images |
| 1 January 2027 | Issue B2B invoices as e-invoices | Businesses established in Germany with prior-year revenue above 800,000 euros | German VAT Act, § 14 | German e-invoicing 2027 |
| 1 January 2028 | Issue B2B invoices as e-invoices | Every other business established in Germany | German VAT Act, § 14 | German e-invoicing 2027 |
The European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025, implemented by national laws such as the BFSG in Germany and Ley 11/2023 in Spain. For websites the key case is e-commerce with consumers: online shops, bookings and contracts signed online. The yardstick is WCAG 2.1 level AA. Microenterprises providing services, with fewer than ten employees and no more than 2 million euros in turnover or balance sheet total, are exempt. Businesses in scope also need an accessibility statement. How we test it is on the accessibility audit page.
Since 2 August 2026, Article 50 of the EU AI Act has applied. Photorealistic AI images that resemble existing people, places, objects or events and would pass as real need a visible notice next to the image. If you run an AI chat, people have to know that an AI is answering. Clearly drawn illustrations, diagrams and icons need no notice. How we go through a site is on the AI labelling check page.
The ePrivacy Directive requires consent before a site stores or reads information on a device, unless that is strictly necessary for the service the visitor asked for. Statistics tools, video embeds, maps and ad networks usually trigger it. A site without such components needs no banner. Germany implements the rule in § 25 TDDDG, Spain in Article 22.2 of the LSSI.
Since 1 January 2025 every business established in Germany has had to be able to receive e-invoices. From 1 January 2027, businesses with more than 800,000 euros in prior-year revenue must issue B2B invoices as e-invoices, from 1 January 2028 everyone else. A PDF does not count; valid formats are structured ones such as XRechnung and ZUGFeRD from version 2.0.1, except the MINIMUM and BASIC-WL profiles. A company without a German establishment is outside the mandate.
This overview reflects the state of 23 September 2026 and is no substitute for legal advice. Whether a rule reaches your business depends on the details.
Your site tested against WCAG 2.1 AA, measured, with an issue list and a draft statement.
See the audit 02Every image rated, plus chat and copy, with ready-made notices to drop in.
See the check 03A new site that meets every rule from day one without losing your rankings.
See the relaunchSeveral of them do. The European Accessibility Act covers services offered to consumers in the EU, the AI Act covers AI output used in the EU, and the GDPR covers the personal data of people in the EU when you offer them goods or services. The German e-invoicing mandate is the exception: it only covers businesses established in Germany.
A privacy notice as soon as the site processes personal data, which a contact form already does. Cookie consent as soon as it stores anything that is not strictly necessary. AI disclosure once photorealistic AI images appear. Accessibility rules under the EAA usually do not reach a site without sales, bookings or contracts.
Switzerland is not an EU member, so the EU rules do not apply to Swiss businesses as such. As soon as you sell to people in the EU, the rules of the countries you sell into apply.
WCAG 2.1 AA is the bar in Europe and the practical benchmark almost everywhere else. What it means in concrete numbers, how to test it in an afternoon, and the three real defects we found on our own site.
Article 50 of the EU AI Act has applied since 2 August 2026. What you have to label, what you do not, and the one thing almost every guide gets wrong. With examples you can copy.
Germany has required businesses to be able to receive structured e-invoices since 2025. Issuing them becomes mandatory from 2027, staged by revenue. What counts as an e-invoice, who is exempt, what it means if you invoice German business customers, and the EU-wide deadline behind it.
Our site sets exactly one cookie and shows no banner. What the US rules actually ask for, why the banner copied from Europe answers the wrong question, which browser signal becomes binding in January 2027 and the one cookie we still consider one too many.
Send us your website address. Within 24 hours you get a read on which rules reach you and what is missing.