many government apps established during the COVID-19 outbreak, including the National Health Insurance (hereinafter referred to as the NHI) Mobile App and public bus apps in central and southern Taiwan 83 fail to meet accessibility requirements. The Development Guidelines on Mobile Application Accessibility announced by the NCC in 2017 aims to provide app development guidelines. However, the guidelines are not mandatory. As of 2019, no verification applications have been received, highlighting the lack of enforcement. The app testing pilot program 84 launched by the NCC in 2017 and 2018 found that government apps largely fail to meet the four principles of accessibility (perceivable, operable, understandable, robust) in the development stage and to apply the accessibility development guidelines. Accessible app design can be improved by following standard programming language and accessibility tag requirements. The NCC published its Directions Governing Mobile App Accessibility Verification (Pilot)85 and Guidelines for Mobile App Accessibility Verification in March 2021. A pilot program for testing the accessibility of apps targeting second-level central agencies of the Executive Yuan was launched in April 2021. However, not all government apps are required to be tested. The NHRC will continue monitoring the status of the program. 99. The NHRC is deeply concerned about the relationship between internal networks and work rights. The use of internal networks remains a considerable obstacle for persons with visual impairments, and they often require the assistance of their colleagues. Accessibility verification is only conducted on external networks and internal networks are excluded from testing and often fail to meet accessibility requirements. Accessibility verification conducted by the NCC primarily target 83 84 85 The NHI Mobile App was launched by the government during the pandemic to assist the public in purchasing masks. However, during the initial period after launch, many persons with visual impairments reported that the App was difficult to use. Bus commuters with visual impairments in central and southern Taiwan reported that they were unable to use local public bus Apps and relied on 1999 to inquire about bus schedules. The relevant organizations view this as a breach of information equality. The NCC launched a pilot program to verify government apps in 2017 and 2018. Tests were based on the four principles of accessible digital content—that apps must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust—to evaluate the development status of accessibility functions in government mobile apps. The NCC explained that representatives from various disabled persons’ organizations, app developers, and experts/scholars on disabilities were invited to participate in formulating the guidelines. The representatives from various disabled persons’ organizations commented that app verification should focus on practicality and whether operating procedures meet accessibility requirements. 68