<marquee> elements are deprecated and must not be used

Rule ID: marquee
Ruleset: axe-core 4.2
User Impact: Serious
Guidelines: WCAG 2.1 (A), WCAG 2.0 (A)

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Compliance Data & Impact

User Impact

Serious
▼
Minor
Critical

Disabilities Affected

  • Low Vision
  • Mobility
  • Cognitive

Standard(s)

  • WCAG 2.1 (A)
  • WCAG 2.0 (A)

WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.1 (A)]

  • 2.2.2: MUST: Pause, Stop, Hide

WCAG Success Criteria [WCAG 2.0 (A)]

  • 2.2.2: MUST: Pause, Stop, Hide

How to Fix the Problem

Deprecated elements which are presentational in nature have typically been replaced by cascading style sheets (CSS), and their use may interfere with the ability of assistive technologies to properly render content.

Remove all marquee elements, even if they are empty.

Example of What To Remove

The following is code for scrolling marquee text with links, followed by the rendered display output: 

<marquee behavior="scroll" direction="left"> Frisbeetarianism is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief">belief</a> 
that when you <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death">die</a>, your <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul">soul</a> 
goes up on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roof">roof</a> and gets stuck.</marquee>
Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.

Why it Matters

The marquee element creates scrolling text that is difficult to read and click on. Beyond that, it can be distracting to viewers, especially to those with low vision, cognitive disabilities, or attention deficits.

People with attention deficits or cognitive disabilities could become distracted by content that scrolls. If scrolling content contains links, people with limited fine motor abilities may not be able to click on the links accurately. Users with visual impairments may not be able to see the scrolling text with enough acuity to know what the content says.

Rule Description

<marquee> elements must not be present because they are deprecated, increase difficulty for users with limited dexterity, and are distracting for users with cognitive or attention deficits.

The Algorithm (in simple terms)

Ensures that the deprecated marquee element is not used.

Resources

Deque University Course Pages (subscription required)

Contribute to axe-core on GitHub

Other Resources

You may also want to check out these other resources.

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