Deceptive by Design: An Interactive Website Exploring, Simulating, and Discussing Dark Patterns

Abstract

Dark patterns are deceptive user interface and user experience techniques that affect consumers into making choices that they usually wouldn't make, and those choices benefit the corporation or developers of the service at the cost of the consumer. This concern has been on the rise in digital platforms, and studies have shown that these practices are effective in influencing consumers. As such, this has led the European Union and the Federal Trade Commission to create legislation to prevent dark patterns from affecting their citizens. At the moment, there is a lack of legislation that protects Filipinos from these deceptive tactics, aside from legislation, there is also a lack of awareness regarding dark patterns in the Philippines.

This study seeks to bring awareness to dark patterns through an interactive website that simulates, explains, and provides examples to showcase this problem, and provides an opportunity for individuals to become aware of the presence of dark patterns without being in harm's way. Furthermore, a survey was conducted in order to determine the effectiveness of the website and to see if individuals become aware of dark patterns, and whether they agree that there should be legislation in the country to protect citizens from dark patterns?

In the survey where twenty respondents participated, it was found that prior to interacting with the website, there was a significant lack of awareness of the concept of dark patterns, and yet all believed that at one point they faced a situation wherein they felt pressured by a website or program to make a choice they didn't intend to make. After interacting with the website, the majority of the respondents became aware of dark patterns and believe that there is a need for legislation and for corporations to also be fined for the presence of dark patterns on their platforms. Lastly, all participants of the survey said that they are now more confident in future encounters with dark patterns.