“Unveiling the Deceptive Strategies: How Online Companies Use Dark Patterns to Retain Your Money and Data”

Dark Patterns: How Online Companies Strive to Keep Your Money and Data When You Try to Leave

An Introduction to Dark Patterns

Have you ever signed up for a free trial on an online service, only to find yourself paying for it months or even years later? Or have you tried to cancel a subscription but found yourself giving up due to the painstaking process? If so, you may have encountered a “dark pattern”.

Dark patterns are clever tricks embedded in apps and websites to encourage users to take actions they may not necessarily want to take. They make it easy to accept tracking cookies and quickly agree to terms and conditions, while making it difficult and frustrating to unsubscribe or cancel a subscription. Recent research shows that these dark patterns primarily benefit companies at the expense of consumers.

Regulatory Response to Dark Patterns

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which aims to protect consumers from unfair business practices, has observed the increasing use of dark patterns by companies to trick people into buying products and giving away their personal information. For example, the FTC is currently investigating Amazon over its alleged use of dark patterns to enroll customers into its Prime service while making it difficult for them to leave. Amazon responded by claiming that the FTC misunderstood retail and emphasized that they make it clear and simple for customers to both sign up for or cancel their Prime membership.

The concerns about dark patterns are not limited to the US. The European Union has recently passed legislation that allows for the fining of companies that use dark patterns, and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority has introduced rules to protect consumers from dark patterns in financial services. Additionally, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched its first investigation into dark patterns, warning businesses against the use of what it calls “harmful online choice architectures”.

Manipulation of Choice Architecture

The term “choice architecture” refers to the design of different ways in which choices can be presented to decision-makers. Dark patterns manipulate choice architecture by hindering choice rather than helping consumers. Instead of removing irrelevant information, these patterns bombard users with excessive details, extra steps, and distractions, making it difficult for them to cancel subscriptions or opt out of services.

The CMA rightly notes that in today’s online world, businesses have an unprecedented ability to design and control every aspect of their interactions with consumers. Online experiences are personalized, and tech-savvy companies have numerous ways to engage with and manipulate users.

The Potential Harms and Loss of Freedom

While regulators primarily focus on how dark patterns result in monetary losses and personal data misuse, there are other concerns about potential psychological harms and a loss of freedom for users of online services. Behavioral science insights have been used to identify the strategies behind dark patterns, leading to the creation of a simple framework to describe their most prevalent tactics.

The framework categorizes these tactics as “detours,” “roundabouts,” and “shortcuts”. Detours refer to the tools used to delay and distract users, such as requiring excessive actions to cancel a subscription. Roundabouts aim to bore or frustrate users to the point of giving up, while shortcuts present users with an immediately easy but potentially costly choice, such as accepting all cookies or terms and conditions without fully considering the implications.

Empowering Consumers and Regulatory Intervention

Recognizing that the ability to create and delete accounts is fundamental in navigating the online world, the authors of the research argue that it should be as easy, if not easier, to delete an account as it is to create one. However, most online services fail to meet this standard. Without consumer pushback and regulatory intervention, navigating the online world will become increasingly difficult for ordinary people.

Thankfully, regulators are stepping up their efforts to address dark patterns, and new tools for protecting consumers are emerging. While there is still a long way to go, there is hope that the manipulative tactics employed by online companies can be curbed, allowing users to navigate the digital landscape with greater ease, freedom, and control.

References:

1. Whittle, R., & Mills, S. (2023, October 11). Dark patterns: How online companies strive to keep your money and data when you try to leave. Retrieved from https://techxplore.com/news/2023-10-dark-patterns-online-companies-money.html