After many months of anticipation, WCAG 2.2 was finally published in October 2023.

What changed

The previous version of the criteria (WCAG 2.1) had 78 recommendations. WCAG 2.2 introduced 9 new requirements and made one existing criterion obsolete. This means that there are now 86 criteria to comply with. 

The now obsolete criterion is:

• 4.1.1Parsing (A)

And the 9 new criteria are:

• 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum) (AA) - Ensure when an item gets keyboard focus, it is at least partially visible.

• 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced) (AAA) - Ensure when an item gets keyboard focus, it is fully visible.

• 2.4.13 Focus Appearance (AAA) - Use a focus indicator of sufficient size and contrast. 

• 2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA)* - For any action that involves dragging, provide a simple pointer alternative. 

• 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (AA)* - Ensure targets meet a minimum size or have sufficient spacing around them. 

• 3.2.6 Consistent Help (A)* - Put help in the same place when it is on multiple pages.

• 3.3.7 Redundant Entry (A) - Don't ask for the same information twice in the same session.

• 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum) (AA) - Don’t make people solve, recall, or transcribe something to log in.

• 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced) (AAA) - Don’t make people recognize objects or user-supplied images and media to login.

Here's a visual breakdown of where the new criteria fit in:

*Out of the 9 new criteria, we think 3 are really relevant to learning content. These are the 3 that we highlighted before and marked with asterisks. In this spotlight, we only detail them. 

So let's go through the 3 relevant new criteria.

2.5.7 Dragging Movements (AA):

This criterion has probably been long-awaited by learning content creators. It concerns actions that require dragging elements on the screen, such as drag and drops, sliders or using multiple fingers to zoom into something. The criterion requires that if such interactions are used, you provide a single-pointer alternative. This means that if you use an activity that involves dragging movements, you should offer learners the option to complete the activity with only clicks/taps involved. 

The criterion mentions that content may be exempt from this requirement if the dragging is essential or the functionality is determined by the tool. So, for example, if you're teaching how to upload content to the internet by dragging the file to the upload area, it's essential to perform the dragging movement and that's exempt. If you embed a map that requires double-pointer zooming, that's also exempt because you have no control over the functionality. 

2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum) (AA):

Update: We now cover this criterion in Spotlight 36 Sizing! 

There is an existing criterion in WCAG 2.1 (2.5.5 Target Size - AAA) that is similar to the new criterion. The existing guideline required that interactive items such as buttons or icons are at least 44 by 44 CSS pixels in size (around 9 mm). 

The new requirement is a more forgiving version of the existing criterion. It is an AA guideline that requires the size of the target for pointer inputs to be at least 24 by 24 CSS pixels. 

There are many exceptions. For example, objects that are sufficiently spaced from each other may still meet the criterion because the spacing eliminates accidental activation. 

3.2.6 Consistent Help (A):

Update: We now cover this criterion in Spotlight 21: Consistency! 

In Spotlight 21: Consistency, we already talked about the importance of placing repeated elements in the same position. And in Spotlight 6: Meaningful sequence, we explored focus order. This new guideline is concerned with the placement (and focus order) of help options. If you make a help option available (help icon, info icon, or contact information), this guideline requires you to place it in the same location and order and make sure it’s available on every slide or page. 

Resources:

• Check out this article for a quick rundown of the new criteria: WCAG 2.2 Summary (Level access)

• This is the most thorough article we found on the new WCAG criteria so far: What's new in WCAG 2.2 (Tetralogical)

• Follow this link to read the official announcement: Changes from WCAG 2.1 to 2.2 (W3.org)

Discussion questions:

Get Involved: Come to the LCA Spotlight LinkedIn group and join the conversation.

• What steps (if any) are you taking in your organization to meet the new criteria?

• Which criteria do you find the most applicable to your work?

• What questions do you have about the new criteria?

When you post in the community, use the hashtag #LCASpotlightWCAG2.2