Lawmakers Seek To Ban ‘Dark Patterns’ That Manipulate People Into Giving Up Data
Illustration 147287176 © Chatchaithep Tamlikit | Dreamstime.com
Ever registered for a pretty good deal, only to realize months later that you were also signed up to a whole bunch of other services you never cared about? You could have been a victim of a “dark pattern,” which is pretty rampant on the internet (even former president Donald Trump’s campaign website was notoriously filled with them).
With a few tricks like making buttons less visible, reducing font sizes, and forcing users to go through several clicks before finding what they want, brands have made online tasks much more complicated than they really need to be. Arguably the most frustrating—if not frightening—tier of dark patterns involves the sharing of privacy without the user’s explicit consent, and a proposed bipartisan bill might finally prohibit large businesses from resorting to them.
On Wednesday, lawmakers reintroduced the Deceptive Experiences to Online Users Reduction (DETOUR) Act, which restricts companies with over 100 million real monthly users from intentionally designing online platforms to nudge consumers into the direction of the brands’ interests when it comes to data collection or sharing. Large companies should neither skew visitors’ decisions nor overstep their “autonomy,” the bill stresses.
According to MediaPost, the bill was brought up by Democratic and Republican senators in Virginia, Nebraska, South Dakota, Delaware, and Ohio, and is similar to a 2019 version.
The original bill did have an effect on the way interfaces are designed in California and Colorado, which now prohibit the use of dark patterns that make it difficult for consumers to opt-out of targeted advertising, MediaPost notes. Colorado will also implement a ban on dark patterns for data collection consent in 2023.
California additionally deems double-negative terminology as a dark pattern. You cannot, for instance, use phrases like “don’t not sell my personal information” if your company operates in that state.
Under the DETOUR Act, large businesses would also be restricted from making sites addicting for children under the age of 13, like using autoplay videos.
“For years dark patterns have allowed social media companies to use deceptive tactics to convince users to hand over personal data without understanding what they are consenting to,” said Senator Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia). “Consumers should be able to make their own informed choices on when to share personal information without having to navigate intentionally misleading interfaces and design features deployed by social media companies.”
[via MediaPost, cover illustration Chatchaithep Tamlikit | Dreamstime.com]
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