What are Dark Patterns?

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What are Dark Patterns?
• How do companies use dark patterns?
• Regulation of dark patterns in India
• Key highlights of the draft guidelines
• News Summary: Dark pattern sales deemed ‘cybercrime’
• Case Study: Use of dark pattern by Indigo airlines

Why in news?

Recent research reveals that mobile apps often use deceptive design tactics, known as dark patterns, to manipulate users into unintented actions.

What are Dark Patterns?

Dark patterns are deceptive and manipulative user interface (UI) designtechniques employed by websites, apps, and other digital platforms to trick or manipulate users into taking actionsthey may not intend to take or to make decisions that are not in their best interest.

• It is a deceptive practice employed to influence user behaviour in a way that benefits the company implementing it.
• The term “dark patterns” was coined in 2010 by Harry Brignull, a user experience specialist.
• These patterns are often used to encourage users to sign up for services, make purchases, or share personal information, among other things.
• Dark patterns exploit cognitive biasesand psychological principles to influence user behavior.
• They can range from subtle and mildly misleading to overtly aggressive tactics.
• There are different kinds of dark patterns: Friend spam, forced continuity, disguised ads, confirm shaming, bait and switch, hidden costs, roach motel, privacy zuckering, misdirection, price comparison prevention, trick questions, and sneak into basket.
  • For Example: 'Confirm shaming' means using a phrase, video, audio, or any other means to create a sense of fear, shame, ridicule, or guilt in the mind of the user so as to nudge the user to act in a certain way.
• In November 2023, the Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, released guidelines for 13 dark patterns.
  • According to these guidelines, the use of any of these prescribed dark patterns amounts to a misleading advertisement, an unfair trade practice, or a violation of consumer rights.

How do companies use dark patterns?

• Social media companies and Big Tech firms such as Apple, Amazon, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Google use dark or deceptive patterns to downgrade the user experience to their advantage.
• Amazon
  • It came under fire in the EU for its confusing, multi-step cancellation process for the Amazon Prime subscription.
• LinkedIn
  • LinkedIn users often receive unsolicited, sponsored messages from influencers.
  • Disabling this option is a difficult process with multiple steps that requires users to be familiar with the platform controls.

Regulation of dark patterns in India

• In September 2023, Department of Consumer Affairs has sought public comments on Draft Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns.

Key highlights of the draft guidelines

• Objective
  • To clearly identify and define tactics as dark patterns so that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs can act against platforms indulging in this under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
• Defines dark patterns
  • The document defines dark patterns as:
    • deceptive design patterns using UI/UX (user interface/user experience) interactions on any platform;
    • designed to mislead or trick users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do;
    • by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, decision making or choice;
    • amounting to misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights.
  • For instance, false urgency is a dark pattern under which the online seller makes false claims of limited stock (“hurry, only two items left!”).
    • This misleads the user/buyer into making an immediate purchase or act immediately.
  • The draft guidelines propose prohibitions against engaging in dark patterns.
• Applicability
  • The draft guidelines, once notified, shall apply to all platforms systematically offering goods or services in India, advertisers and sellers.
• Specifies 10 types of dark patterns
  • 

News Summary: Dark pattern sales deemed ‘cybercrime’

• An analysis of airline websites, apps and online portals by a leading media house in India showed that dark patterns were widely prevalent.

Case Study: Use of dark pattern by Indigo airlines

• IndiGo’s website deploys a technique known as false urgency.
  • Under this, the airline gives consumers booking an air ticket the impression that they have to pay an extra fee of ₹99 to ₹1,500 to buy a seat to complete the purchase, as all free seats are shown as unavailable.
  • Sometimes, there will be four or five free seats available but they are relegated to the bottom of the aircraft cabin and can be harder to locate and navigate to on the webpage.
  • The passengers can hit the skip button at the end of the seat selection page.
  • However,they are not informed in a transparent manner that free seats will be auto-assigned to them if they do not wish to pay the extra sum.
• Indigo has also been found indulged in a practice known as interface interference.
  • Interface interference is a situation where the website design highlights certain specific information and deliberately obscures other information.
  • On IndiGo’s mobile application, the option to skip is placed in the top right corner and displayed in a tiny font.

Q1) What is basket sneaking?

Sneaking products into users' shopping baskets is a dark pattern that tricks people into purchasing more than they intended to do. For this very reason, the European Commission illegalized this design pattern under the consumer rights directive.

Q2) What is false urgency?

False urgency is type of dark pattern that creates a sense of urgency by external pressure, anxiety, and fear. It can cause people to prioritize one thing over another, regardless of their significance and impact.

Source: Dark pattern sales deemed ‘cybercrime’ | PIB | Ministry of Consumer Affairs