CAN/ASC-6.3-AI Authoring Tools – Notice of intent
This notice of intent informs the public and other standards development organizations of our intention to develop or adopt a new standard. This is to avoid duplication in the development of accessibility standards. The notice also defines the scope of the standard that we propose, defines the need for the project, and provides the period of time during which we invite the public to send us their comments about this standard.
Standards development organization
Accessibility Standards Canada
Contact information
Email:
Info.Accessibility.Standards-Normes.Accessibilite.Info@canada.gc.ca
Mailing address:
320, St-Joseph Boulevard
Suite 246
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3
Telephone:
1-833-854-7628
Work program
The work program lists all of Accessibility Standards Canada’s in-progress and completed standards. It is available on our site.
Designation number
CAN-ASC-6.3
Standard type
National Standard of Canada – Domestic
Standard development activity
New standard
International Classification for Standards (ICS) codes
- 35.020 - Information technology in general
- 11.180 - Aids for disabled and handicapped persons
- 35.080 - Software
- 35.240 - Applications of information technology
Comment Period Start Date
2025-06-17
SDO Comment Period End Date:
2025-08-01
Scope
The purpose of CAN/ASC-6.3 is to develop a standard that goes above mandatory minimum technical specifications and produces equity-based technical requirements.
There are common areas where persons with disabilities may face barriers related to the Design and Delivery of Programs and Services priority area. These include, but are not limited to:
- Inaccessible interfaces in AI-based or AI-assisted authoring tools resulting in barriers to creating content by people with disabilities.
- Inaccessible content created by AI-based or AI-assisted authoring tools resulting in lack of access to web content, applications, and services, including to essential services that have an impact on many Accessible Canada Act priority areas.
To address these barriers, the standard will establish technical requirements and guidance for accessible artificial intelligence authoring tools including but not limited to:
- Authoring tools that create accessible web content by default (“born accessible content”), when generating content, and/or guiding or suggesting content. Content includes but is not limited to apps, interactive services, as well as static web content.
- Authoring tool interfaces that are accessible to users/authors with disabilities and interoperable with assistive technologies.
- Addressing artificial intelligence authoring tool accessibility on a range of devices, including mobile and desk top applications.
This standard will align with relevant technical requirements found in other Accessibility Standards Canada standards. These include:
- CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 - Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT)
- CAN-ASC-6.2 Accessible and Equitable Artificial Intelligence Systems
Project need
The Accessible Canada Act has a goal to create a barrier free Canada by 2040. To inform the development of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), between June 2016 and February 2017, the Government of Canada conducted extensive consultations with Canadians. These consultations included participation and input from interested parties, including 6,000 Canadians and 90 organizations and identified barriers to accessibility for Canadians with disabilities in seven key areas. Following the consultations, the ACA was created and came into force in June 2019 and includes these seven priority areas to address the barriers identified during the consultations. Accessibility Standards Canada was created under the ACA and has a mandate to contribute to the realization of a barrier free Canada through:
- the development of standards to prevent, identify, and remove these barriers to accessibility for Canadians with disabilities in the seven priority areas in the ACA; and,
- the recommendation of these standards to the minister for regulatory adoption
The strategic need for this standard aligns with the Information and Communication Technologies priority area identified in the ACA and is intended to remove barriers to accessibility in artificial intelligence authoring tools and content created by artificial intelligence authoring tools. This strategic need has also been confirmed with the Governor in Council appointed Board of Directors, who are primarily people with disabilities and who have approved the development of this standard.
In addition to these identified needs, Accessibility Standards Canada’s standards are developed following the principle of “nothing without us”. This means that Accessibility Standards Canada’s standards are developed with research that has been led by people with disabilities or lived experience and participation of people with disabilities on our technical committees which contribute to the development of equity-based requirements that take into account the needs and perspectives of people with disabilities. This also means that the public review process for this standard will be accessible, allowing even more people with disabilities to be part of the standards development process.
Posted on
2025-06-12