Are Dark Patterns Anticompetitive?

Day, Gregory; Stemler, Abbey

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3468321

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For instance, Mathur et al [35] state that dark pattern designs are "coercing, steering, or deceiving, " and Gray et al [20] note that dark patterns have "obnoxious, coercive, or deceitful" properties. Waldman [57] Day & Stemler [11] Gray et al [20] Maier & Harr [34] NCC [18] CNIL [42] DETOUR Act [58] CPRA [40] Characteristics The second facet of definitions is the mechanism of effect for influencing users. 6 Collectively, the dark pattern definitions specify 13 distinct ways that user interfaces could influence users.…”

Section: Defining Dark Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 Collectively, the dark pattern definitions specify 13 distinct ways that user interfaces could influence users. Some definitions describe dark patterns as subverting user intent (Brignull [3], Lewis [31], Bösch et al [4], Westin and Chiasson [59], Waldman [57], and Day and Stemler [11]) or subverting user preferences (Bösch et al [4], Mathur et al [35], Luguri and Strahilevitz [32], CNIL [42],…”

Section: Defining Dark Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The dark patterns literature has only provided limited commentary about competition concerns emerging from dark patterns. An exception is the work of Day and Stemler [11], which raises the primary concern that dark patterns "erode users' ability to act rationally, which empowers platforms to extract wealth and build market power without doing so on the merits. " Day and Stemler argue that dark patterns harm competition because "when the design is meant to generate switching costs without an offsetting benefit to users," and that the key in making this judgement should be "whether the design was meant to enhance addiction and manipulate usage while providing consumers with a qualitatively worse product. "…”

Section: Collective Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In such cases, the FTC determines whether the act or practice "causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers which is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves and not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition. " 11 State attorneys general have analogous powers under state law to prohibit unfair or deceptive practices.…”

Section: Regulatory Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

What Makes a Dark Pattern... Dark?

Mathur

Mayer

Kshirsagar

2021

Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

143

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There is a rapidly growing literature on dark patterns, user interface designs-typically related to shopping or privacy-that researchers deem problematic. Recent work has been predominantly descriptive, documenting and categorizing objectionable user interfaces.These contributions have been invaluable in highlighting specific designs for researchers and policymakers. But the current literature lacks a conceptual foundation: What makes a user interface a dark pattern? Why are certain designs problematic for users or society?We review recent work on dark patterns and demonstrate that the literature does not reflect a singular concern or consistent definition, but rather, a set of thematically related considerations. Drawing from scholarship in psychology, economics, ethics, philosophy, and law, we articulate a set of normative perspectives for analyzing dark patterns and their effects on individuals and society. We then show how future research on dark patterns can go beyond subjective criticism of user interface designs and apply empirical methods grounded in normative perspectives.

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Section: Defining Dark Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Defining Dark Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Collective Welfarementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regulatory Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

What Makes a Dark Pattern... Dark?

Mathur

Mayer

Kshirsagar

2021

Proceedings of the 2021 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the same time, digital platforms extract as much data and money from users as possible, thereby possibly exploiting them beyond a reasonable measure. 112 When a digital platform "coerces users into paying attention, spending money, generating data, or revealing personal information against their best interests; this unreasonably transfers wealth from consumers to the firm, which . .…”

Section: Democracy-related Harm As An Antitrust Infringementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antitrust, Big Tech, and Democracy: A Research Agenda

Robertson

2022

The Antitrust Bulletin

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In the twenty-first century, voter choice and the broader political debate are within the reach of those that can access and channel the vast streams of user data that are generated online. How digital platforms utilize personal user data to influence the outcome of democratic processes has become a central issue that liberal democracies must confront. The paper explores whether competition law has a role to play when it comes to addressing this intersection of Big Tech, data, and democracy. It first sets out the democratic roots of competition or antitrust law in the United States and the European Union. From these, the paper deduces that competition law cannot remain inactive when it comes to maintaining a democratic society in the face of the abilities of Big Tech to influence democratic processes and outcomes. The paper then goes a step further and asks what role competition law could play in this regard. Should democratic values simply be reflected in the procedural set-up of antitrust law, or is there a role for democratic values in the substantive provisions as well? And if so, does antitrust law’s focus on keeping market power in check suffice to fulfill its role in a democratic society, or does this role require the law to specifically target antidemocratic market behavior as anticompetitive harm? In navigating these questions, the paper contributes to the ongoing debate on political antitrust and sets out an ambitious research agenda on how to carry this discussion forward.

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Hypernudging in the changing European regulatory landscape for digital markets

Morozovaite

2022

Policy & Internet

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The European regulatory landscape for digital markets is undergoing a transformative change. There is an observed shift toward the protection of public values and fundamental rights, as the market mechanism and market values that traditionally led regulatory processes in digital markets seem to have fallen short. In the context of the user‐centric digital economy, a clear commitment to safeguarding citizens' interests is ever‐more salient. This article provides a comprehensive account of hypernudging—dynamically personalized user steering, which represents the next generation user influencing techniques online, with the potential to lead to multifaceted individual and collective harms. However, problematizing the phenomenon for digital policy purposes is not a straightforward task. Due to the complexity and opaqueness of its underlying mechanisms and effects, policymakers are operating under conditions of uncertainty, necessitating a shared understanding of what impact hypernudging has on users as well as crafting a shared vision of values that ought to be embedded and safeguarded in digital choice architectures. To highlight the developing European approach in relation to hypernudging, the assessment of the recent legislative initiatives—the Artificial Intelligence Act, the Digital Markets Act, and the Digital Services Act—showcases underlying learning opportunities for addressing emergent challenges.

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Are Dark Patterns Anticompetitive?

Cited by 9 publications

References 11 publications

What Makes a Dark Pattern... Dark?

What Makes a Dark Pattern... Dark?

Antitrust, Big Tech, and Democracy: A Research Agenda

Hypernudging in the changing European regulatory landscape for digital markets

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