Publications

The paper investigates the effectiveness of an educational game as a tool for educating users on recognizing dark patterns in online shopping websites. It begins by reviewing existing research on dark patterns and online privacy, laying the groundwork for its study. Utilizing a multi-stage quiz game, the research establishes a baseline of user performance without prior training, provides training examples explaining various dark patterns, and subsequently assesses users' ability to classify these patterns. Results from a pilot study indicate a significant average improvement of 27.76% in correct answers post-training. The study also addresses potential biases, noting a degradation in user performance with extended delays between training and testing, attributed to recency bias. Despite this, users consistently showed improvement over their initial baseline scores. The findings suggest that such educational games offer a promising approach to effectively teaching these concepts, warranting further investigation with a larger participant pool.

This research paper explores the ethical implications of dark patterns in digital marketing, focusing on how these deceptive strategies erode consumer trust across various industries. Through a thematic literature review and detailed case studies—from online retail to social media and travel agencies—the study examines the mechanisms and impacts of dark patterns. It highlights how these tactics manipulate user behavior, influence brand perceptions, and compromise privacy. The paper emphasizes the need for legal and regulatory frameworks to address these practices, advocating for transparency and user empowerment in marketing strategies. Ultimately, it calls for ethical guidelines and responsible design principles to foster a more trustworthy and consumer-centric digital ecosystem.

Recent research in human-computer interaction (HCI) has focused on identifying dark patterns across digital domains, including social networking sites (SNSs), which employ deceptive strategies to manipulate user behavior. This study explores the recognition and avoidance of dark patterns among users, particularly examining how vulnerable populations such as individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are affected. Conducting an interactive web study with 135 participants, the research compared the abilities of users with and without ADHD to identify and evade these manipulative tactics. Findings revealed a generally low recognition of dark patterns among all users, consistent with previous research, but no significant differences between the groups in recognition rates. Interestingly, participants with ADHD demonstrated a higher capability to avoid certain dark patterns. This study extends understanding of dark patterns in realistic settings and contributes insights into their impact on vulnerable groups.

The research explored how external and internal choice factors affect cookie acceptance behavior through two experiments. The first experiment focused on the impact of design elements in cookie consent banners, such as the effort needed to navigate options and the visual emphasis on accept or reject buttons. The second experiment assessed the consistency of cookie acceptance across twelve websites, considering factors like privacy concerns, age, and thinking preferences (rational vs. experiential). Results showed that external factors strongly influenced acceptance decisions in both experiments, while internal factors like rational thinking, privacy concerns, and age had a more nuanced effect. Notably, the second experiment revealed that about two-thirds of participants consistently accepted or rejected cookies, highlighting the significant role of internal factors in privacy decisions. These findings emphasize the critical role of banner design and individual differences in shaping privacy behaviors.

This article examines the rise of e-commerce in Argentina, highlighting the significant growth of online shoppers in 2023, with an annual increase of 175% according to Kantar for CAECE. It focuses on the fashion industry, where social pressures and trends drive consumer behavior. The piece delves into the problematic use of dark patterns and hyper-personalization techniques in digital fashion commerce, facilitated by AI and machine learning. These practices, while offering unique shopping experiences, raise ethical and legal concerns. The article discusses specific cases, regulatory frameworks, and the impact of these practices on brand trust and industry sustainability, emphasizing the need for transparency and ethics.

This study investigates the impact of dark patterns in both physical and virtual reality (VR) environments, exploring how these manipulative design techniques affect user behavior. The research reveals that dark patterns operate similarly in VR as they do in physical settings, potentially leading to privacy breaches or financial losses for users. Notably, the immersive and interactive nature of VR does not diminish the effectiveness of these patterns, and having prior VR experience does not necessarily reduce their influence. This work enhances understanding of how dark patterns function within VR environments, highlighting the need for further examination of their implications.

This study evaluates the ethical implications of dark patterns in software engineering and related fields, extending to research and applied ethics. Using scenario analysis and the frameworks of utilitarianism, deontology (within EU laws), and virtue ethics, it finds that dark patterns are not inherently immoral but present significant ethical concerns with practical implications. The study recommends a case-by-case ethical assessment of dark patterns, incorporating all three major branches of normative ethics, and highlights the importance of considering both material and non-material harms in legal evaluations.

This analysis explores the issue of dark patterns in the retail investment sector, where digital platforms often exploit user biases to influence financial decisions. It examines the integration of behavioral sciences and artificial intelligence within regulatory frameworks aimed at curbing these manipulative practices. By enhancing command-and-control regulations with these insights, the goal is to better protect retail investors from making choices that do not align with their best interests.

L'article examine les impacts des technologies numériques et de l'intelligence artificielle sur les droits fondamentaux à la dignité et à l'autonomie mentale, incluant la santé mentale. Il souligne les défis des cadres juridiques actuels à adresser ces impacts. La revue narrative illustre comment Internet et l'IA renforcent la manipulation mentale, avec des outils numériques utilisant des modèles sombres pour influencer les choix des consommateurs. L'article identifie des mécanismes psychologiques expliquant la détérioration de la santé mentale et propose des tests pour avancer la recherche sur les effets de l'adversité numérique.

A recent study published in the Journal of Enterprise Information Management explores the motivating factors behind the use of dark patterns in e-commerce, where companies manipulate user interfaces to influence customer decisions. The research, based on feedback from 17 industry experts and utilizing the Grey Influence Analysis (GINA) method, reveals that e-commerce companies prioritize long-term economic goals, short-term marketing objectives, and the leverage of existing user data, often at the expense of sustainability. These motivations align with the agency theory of corporate governance, emphasizing profit over ethical practices. The findings suggest that e-commerce managers could benefit from adopting more user-centric approaches, potentially prompting discussions on digital ethics and encouraging legal interventions against such manipulative practices.

This work investigates whether large language models (LLMs) generate dark patterns in ecommerce web design by evaluating 312 components generated across four popular LLMs: Claude, GPT, Gemini, and Llama. The study tested 13 commonly used ecommerce components and found that over one-third of the generated components contained at least one dark pattern. These patterns mostly involved hiding crucial information, limiting user actions, and manipulating decisions through urgency. The findings underscore the need for interventions to prevent dark patterns in front-end code generation with LLMs and highlight the importance of expanding ethical design education.

This proposed work aims to develop a browser extension that uses Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT), a natural language processing model, to detect and expose dark patterns on shopping websites. Dark patterns, which manipulate users into making unintended decisions, have become widespread, prompting studies and government actions to restrict their use. The extension will extract text from websites and use BERT to identify these deceptive practices, offering users greater awareness and promoting a more equitable online environment. The research explores challenges in detecting dark patterns and compares the accuracy of BERT with classical models like Random Forest and SVM, showing a superior accuracy of 97%. The project also aims to support ongoing improvements to keep pace with evolving tactics.

This thesis explores how Sweden's Marketing Practices Act (MFL) can regulate dark patterns in online interfaces, using a new taxonomy of deceptive, emotive, restrictive, and addictive types. It finds that deceptive patterns align with misleading practices, while emotive and restrictive patterns resemble aggressive practices. Addictive dark patterns present a unique challenge. The research concludes that the MFL could effectively address the most harmful dark patterns, supported by case law and consumer protection efforts across the EU, US, and UK.

A study analyzing the cookie banners of 359 popular websites reveals that many banners incorporate design practices that violate General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) consent requirements. These design flaws, often categorized as 'dark patterns,' hinder users' ability to make informed choices regarding cookie storage. The research also investigates whether cookies are placed in accordance with users' preferences and finds a strong correlation between the presence of banner violations and non-compliant cookie placements. The study further explores the compliance status of websites across different countries, shedding light on the widespread issues with GDPR adherence.

The chapter explores how artificial intelligence enhances the effectiveness of dark patterns—deceptive design elements used in digital interfaces to manipulate user behavior. The chapter highlights the ethical concerns surrounding AI-driven personalization, which enables these tactics to become more adaptive and persuasive. By examining the implications of such practices, the study underscores the need for detection strategies and regulatory measures to promote transparency and user-centric digital environments.

Discussions on video game ethics have largely centered around the Gamer’s Dilemma, which examines the morality of extreme virtual content such as virtual violence or assault. While content ethics remain significant, this study argues that video game systems also warrant ethical scrutiny. By distinguishing between intravirtual (within the game) and extravirtual (real-world) effects, the research expands the ethical discourse to include dark patterns—design mechanisms that manipulate player behavior. Through case studies, the study highlights how a game can contain controversial content without being inherently unethical and, conversely, how seemingly innocuous games can employ deceptive or exploitative systems, raising serious ethical concerns.

Dark patterns are prevalent across digital platforms, shaping user experiences in ways that often undermine autonomy and informed decision-making. While recent research has established taxonomies and an emerging ontology of dark patterns, most analyses have focused on static representations or isolated pattern types. This study examines Amazon Prime’s “Iliad Flow” as a case study, drawing from a U.S. Federal Trade Commission complaint to illustrate how dark patterns function dynamically across a user journey. By introducing a Temporal Analysis of Dark Patterns (TADP) framework, the research highlights the interplay of multiple deceptive design tactics, their cumulative impact, and the implications for both expert evaluation and automated detection.

This study explores the prevalence and impact of dark patterns—deceptive design tactics used in digital interfaces to manipulate user behavior. By examining various forms of these tactics, the research highlights their effects on user autonomy and trust, while also identifying potential strategies to counter their use. Through increased awareness and the development of effective safeguards, the study advocates for a more ethical and transparent digital environment that prioritizes user rights and fair design practices.

A content analysis of the user interface (UI) designs of five popular social networking sites (SNSs) among teens revealed a range of design tactics that compromise users' social privacy. These privacy dark patterns were categorized into a typology consisting of two main types—Obstruction and Obfuscation—along with seven distinct subtypes. By analyzing these UI elements, the study highlights how certain design choices deliberately make privacy management more difficult or confusing for users, ultimately impacting their ability to control their personal information and online interactions.

The Atlas of Dark Patterns is a research project that examines user consent in algorithmic interfaces through participatory reenactment performance. It explores how dark patterns exploit cognitive vulnerabilities and how ethical concerns in Human-Computer Interaction are tied to the attention economy. Through case studies like The Terms of Service Fantasy Reader, the project uncovers new forms of manipulation, including emotionally charged language that weaponizes ethics of care, expanding the understanding of dark patterns in UX design.

A recent study examines the impact of dark design patterns in Augmented Reality (AR) applications, highlighting their potential to manipulate consumer behavior. As immersive technologies gain traction in marketing and advertising, concerns arise over their shift from persuasion to manipulation. Researchers identified dark patterns within AR-based applications and evaluated their influence through a controlled experiment. Findings confirm that these deceptive design elements can significantly alter consumer decisions, raising ethical concerns about their use in digital marketing strategies.

A recent study introduces the transaction test, an innovative experimental method designed to assess how deceptive designs, commonly referred to as dark patterns, influence user decisions that may conflict with their stated preferences. The research provides empirical evidence on the manipulative effects of these dark patterns, highlighting the ethical concerns and potential need for regulatory oversight in digital interfaces.

A recent study introduces TermMiner, an automated pipeline designed to analyze unfavorable financial terms in online shopping websites' terms and conditions. Researchers compiled ShopTC-100K, a dataset containing 1.8 million terms from 8,251 websites in the Tranco top 100K list, leading to the development of a taxonomy categorizing 22 types of unfavorable financial terms across four key areas: purchase, post-purchase, account termination, and legal aspects. To address the detection gap, they created TermLens, an automated tool leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) to identify these terms, achieving an F1 score of 94.6% and a false positive rate of 2.3% with GPT-4o. Findings reveal that 47.21% of the analyzed websites contain at least one unfavorable financial term, with such terms more frequently appearing on less popular websites. Case studies illustrate the financial risks and customer dissatisfaction stemming from these terms, underscoring the limitations of existing consumer protection measures.

This study examines the detrimental effects of dark patterns (DPs) on brand experience (BE) and consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) within e-commerce, utilizing stimulus-organism-response theory. Analyzing survey data from 419 frequent online shoppers using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in R, the findings reveal that DPs negatively impact BE and CBBE, with BE acting as a mediator in this relationship. However, shopping frequency does not significantly moderate the effect of DPs on BE. These insights highlight the potential risks of deceptive design practices, suggesting that e-commerce businesses may benefit from a customer-centric approach to foster long-term brand loyalty and trust.

his study investigates the impact of dark patterns in cookie consent banners on user decision-making through a randomized online experiment. Participants are exposed to different banner designs, including manipulative tactics such as suggestive color schemes, hidden rejection options, and cumbersome settings navigation, compared to a neutral baseline. The research examines whether these design choices increase consent rates and explores the moderating role of privacy preferences, measured through both incentive-based mechanisms and self-assessed concerns. Additionally, the study delves into the perception of privacy as a collective issue, assessing its relationship with individual decision-making and social value orientation. Using ordinal logistic regression models, the study aims to quantify the effectiveness of dark patterns while considering various demographic and behavioral covariates, ultimately contributing to the broader discourse on digital fairness and consumer protection.

The concept of "design patterns," originating in architecture, has evolved into digital design fields, with "anti-patterns" emerging to describe ineffective or harmful solutions. In 2010, UX expert Harry Brignull introduced "dark patterns" to define intentionally deceptive UI designs that manipulate users for corporate gain, launching darkpatterns.org to raise awareness. Research in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has since documented their prevalence across platforms like e-commerce and social media, highlighting their evolving nature and the challenges they pose for regulation. This chapter examines dark patterns, their mechanisms, and their impact on user behavior, focusing on e-commerce "shopping dark patterns" and exploring regulatory hurdles and potential solutions.

Lior Strahilevitz, the Sidley Austin Professor of Law at the University of Chicago, has revisited the issue of dark patterns—manipulative online tactics designed to exploit consumer behavior—in his latest paper, "Can Consumers Protect Themselves Against Dark Patterns?" Building on his highly influential 2021 work that helped shape the public discourse around these deceptive practices, Strahilevitz now shifts focus toward potential solutions. Collaborating with experts in computer science and social psychology, he developed a realistic Netflix-like platform to study consumer responses to manipulative interfaces under real-world conditions. The research investigates critical questions, including the effectiveness of dark patterns in persuading users to share private information, particularly when they are multitasking or under cognitive load. Coauthored with Matthew Kugler, Marshini Chetty, and Chirag Mahapatra, the paper highlights UChicago’s hallmark interdisciplinary and empirical research approach, offering fresh insights into combating increasingly sophisticated dark patterns.

A recent study explored the challenges users face in resisting dark patterns—manipulative design tactics used in e-commerce to influence user decisions. By analyzing expert opinions from 17 industry professionals and employing grey influence analysis (GINA), the research ranked the significance of 11 identified challenges. Key findings revealed that lack of user awareness, limited control over cognitive biases, and preference for short-term benefits are the most influential barriers. On the other hand, factors like the normalization of aggressive marketing, lack of collective user action, and legal challenges were found to have minimal impact. The study emphasizes the importance of targeted consumer education to mitigate cognitive biases and advocates for ethical design practices in e-commerce to foster trust and transparency. It is among the first to apply GINA in this context, offering unique insights into the cascading effects of user challenges in manipulative digital environments.

A recent study compared the prevalence of Deceptive Patterns—manipulative interface elements that can lead to financial, temporal, and privacy-related losses—across iOS and Android mobile apps. Despite the perception of iOS as a safer platform due to Apple's ecosystem controls, the analysis of 143 apps revealed that iOS apps exhibited more instances of Deceptive Patterns than their Android counterparts (1477 vs. 1398). The study identified four specific types of Deceptive Patterns with significant discrepancies between the platforms, suggesting potential influences from app store guidelines, developer tools, and the increased use of A/B testing. These findings underscore the need for further examination of platform-specific user protections to address risks associated with Deceptive Patterns.

Dark patterns are a global issue, but Indonesia has yet to address them effectively. This article analyzes dark patterns on digital platforms through the lens of Indonesia’s consumer protection laws, arguing that existing regulations are insufficient. While some laws indirectly prohibit certain dark patterns, their application is limited and difficult to enforce. The article recommends explicitly prohibiting the use of manipulative design interfaces that undermine consumer autonomy or exploit behavioral biases. These regulations need not define “dark patterns” directly but should clearly target such deceptive practices to strengthen consumer protection in Indonesia.

This book examines the rising influence of dark patterns—manipulative digital designs that exploit personal data to influence consumer behavior—through the lens of consumer autonomy and legal protections. Divided into three sections, it explores tools for safeguarding autonomy, types of dark patterns, and the role of ethical design in empowering consumers. While offering valuable insights into issues like manipulation, personalization, and algorithmic discrimination, the book’s limited space occasionally restricts depth. Nonetheless, it provides a timely analysis of how businesses increasingly leverage these tactics, highlighting the importance of addressing them in law and design.

The concept of "bad design" is widely discussed but lacks a universally accepted definition, encompassing everything from aesthetic flaws to exploitative dark patterns. This study uses netnography to analyze public opinions on bad designs collected from Reddit forums, revealing that such designs can arise from unintentional negligence or intentional exploitation for specific benefits. Bad designs, spanning industrial products to government systems, often harm users, the environment, or businesses. To address this, the study introduces the "Bad Design Canvas," a tool to help designers and students identify and evaluate design flaws, encouraging a more mindful approach to design. While bad design may never be entirely eradicated, the responsibility lies with practitioners to recognize and mitigate its impact.

Dark patterns, also known as deceptive patterns, are manipulative tactics used by companies to trick users into agreements or actions that benefit the company, often at the user's expense. These tactics include making it difficult to cancel services, promoting manipulative agreements, and employing intrusive pop-ups or sponsored ads. Both small companies and multinational tech giants have been accused of using dark patterns, which are widely criticized but hold significant value for businesses. This paper examines the scope of dark patterns, their role in business transactions, and recent regulatory developments in the European Union, the United States, and India. While India’s laws are more consumer-centric, this analysis highlights the balance between user protection and the business importance of dark patterns.

The evolving field of digital nudges has gained significant attention over the past decade, highlighting the need to understand how these practices adapt to changing digital environments. This paper presents a systematic narrative literature review on the evolution of digital nudges, identifying key themes such as AI-powered nudges, dark nudges, and the importance of ethics, transparency, and accountability. The findings propose a revised definition of digital nudges, introduce a taxonomy wheel to clarify terminology, and offer actionable insights for practitioners to design and implement digital nudges responsibly.

Dark patterns are deceptive interface techniques that manipulate users, undermining their autonomy and decision-making. These tactics compel users to share personal data, pay higher prices, or make canceling subscriptions and exercising rights difficult. Exploiting quick, low-effort decision-making (System 1, Kahneman), they erode trust in the digital space and threaten its sustainability. While Europe has established clear regulations, the U.S. remains more restrained. This study, part of the TTLF project "Towards an Empowerment-Based Regulation of Dark Patterns," examines these practices, their effectiveness, and existing regulatory frameworks, highlighting gaps and setting the stage for further research.

This article examines the need to include the issue of dark patterns in Brazil's regulatory agenda, considering their harmful potential and international experiences. The research employs an explanatory methodology through the hypothetical-deductive method, based on bibliographic, legislative, and jurisprudential analysis. The findings reveal that dark patterns violate consumer rights, privacy, competition, and the protection of minors, while also causing market failures by exploiting the lack of adequate information and individuals' cognitive limitations. These practices undermine both market efficiency and fundamental rights, highlighting the urgency of addressing this issue within Brazil's regulatory framework.

This thesis explores the use of dark patterns—deceptive user interface designs that exploit cognitive biases to influence user behavior—by examining which types of companies employ them and their motivations. Through case studies, academic research, and content analysis of selected websites, the study identifies patterns in companies' use of these tactics. The research highlights that neither company size nor founding date reliably predicts the likelihood of employing dark patterns. Instead, a company’s brand identity and marketing strategy significantly influence its decision to use these deceptive practices. The thesis also discusses global regulatory efforts to address dark patterns and includes examples of high-profile cases that have drawn public and media attention.

A literature review explores the growing popularity of mindfulness applications and the potential threat posed by dark patterns embedded within them. Using Fogg’s Behavior Model and Seven Persuasive Technologies as a framework, the review examines how dark patterns are defined, classified, and integrated into these apps, as well as their impact on users. Findings reveal a significant risk of dark patterns exploiting users without their awareness, raising ethical concerns. The review also highlights limitations in current research and suggests directions for future studies to address these issues and promote ethical design in mindfulness applications.

A recent dissertation investigates vulnerability to manipulative designs, or "dark patterns," which undermine users' autonomy in digital environments. Framing vulnerability as a power imbalance influenced by social, contextual, and agency-related factors, the research explores how specific groups—teenagers, older adults, and young adults with limited digital skills—experience and resist these designs. Through workshops and qualitative studies, it highlights the social and contextual drivers of harm and identifies challenges in designing countermeasures. The work provides insights for UX/UI practitioners, legal scholars, and policymakers, offering guidelines and intervention strategies to address user vulnerability and reframe online manipulation as a critical issue of user protection.

Dark patterns, which manipulate users into decisions that may not align with their best interests, have prompted efforts to counteract their impact through legislation, detection tools, and user education. However, the potential of serious games to teach users about identifying and classifying these deceptive designs has been largely unexplored. To address this, researchers developed a web-based prototype game targeting adults and conducted a comprehensive user study to evaluate its effectiveness. The study revealed that participants improved their ability to detect dark patterns, becoming more aware of manipulative design practices. While results regarding their classification skills were mixed, game log data confirmed significant improvement in detection abilities, highlighting the game's potential as an educational tool.

Deceptive and manipulative design patterns, often used to mislead users or prioritize third-party interests, are prevalent in software, web, and applications. A common example is burying data-sharing clauses in obscure text boxes, undermining user experience and privacy. Despite their widespread adoption, ethical concerns persist, and comprehensive studies on the topic remain limited. To bridge this gap, a systematic literature review characterizes deceptive patterns as a sociotechnical issue involving both human and technical dimensions. This research utilizes the Semiotic Framework to dissect a deceptive pattern and introduces a catalog designed to help users identify and understand these practices. Evaluations with HCI specialists highlight the catalog's potential to raise awareness, while adopting a sociotechnical perspective offers deeper insights into the impact and analysis of deceptive patterns.

A recent study examines the critical role of cybersecurity in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platforms and Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems (ICPS), focusing on the influence of Persuasive and Dark Patterns on user interaction. By analyzing user behavior within two versions of the same application—one utilizing Dark Patterns and the other employing Persuasive Patterns—the research provides valuable insights into operator interactions in industrial environments. The findings reveal significant differences in user experience and navigation efficiency, emphasizing the profound impact of interface design choices on industrial process monitoring and control.

A recent study delves into the pervasive issue of dark patterns—deceptive user interface designs crafted to manipulate users into unintended actions—highlighting their impact on both users and developers. Using a mixed-method approach, the research surveyed 66 end users and 38 developers, while also analyzing 2,556 GitHub discussions. Findings reveal that users frequently encounter dark patterns online, often feeling negative emotions and facing limited options to avoid them. Developers, on the other hand, cite external pressures as a driving factor in implementing such designs, acknowledging their detrimental effects on trust and user experience. GitHub discussions predominantly focus on identifying and preventing dark patterns, with a generally negative sentiment towards their use. The study underscores the need for greater awareness and ethical practices in UI design to curb the proliferation of deceptive patterns in digital environments.

The rise of manipulative web design techniques poses significant challenges to ethical UI/UX design, influencing user behavior in ways that lead to privacy breaches, unwanted purchases, and other adverse outcomes. These techniques often exploit psychological biases, making them difficult to detect. This paper categorizes and details 10 types of manipulative design strategies, highlighting those requiring user action or awareness to coerce unintended decisions. Use cases and countermeasures are also explored, laying a foundation for assessing their impact and advancing ethical web design practices.

Dark patterns are manipulative UI design tactics that push users toward decisions against their best interests. While countermeasures like legislation, content modification, and user education have been explored, serious games for teaching dark pattern detection remain underexplored. This study presents a web-based game prototype for adults and evaluates its effectiveness through a user study. Findings show improved detection skills among participants, indicating increased awareness of manipulative designs. Although classification abilities showed mixed results, game log data confirmed enhanced detection accuracy, highlighting the game's potential as an educational tool.

The growing reliance on web interfaces for activities like shopping and socializing underscores the need for ethical UI/UX design. However, manipulative design techniques exploit users' psychological biases, leading to privacy breaches, unintended purchases, and other harmful outcomes. This paper identifies and categorizes 10 types of manipulative techniques in UI/UX, detailing how they coerce users into unintended actions or decisions. It also explores use cases and countermeasures, offering a foundation for assessing their impact and promoting ethical web design practices.

Les médias sociaux, utilisés par 5,04 milliards de personnes en 2024, sont omniprésents, avec une consommation moyenne de 2 heures et 23 minutes par jour (We Are Social, 2024). Bien qu'ils procurent une satisfaction apparente, ils sont liés à des effets négatifs sur la santé mentale et au développement d’une dépendance, comparable à celle des substances addictives, amplifiée par des facteurs comme l'anxiété et le Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) (Allcott et al., 2022; Erhel et al., 2024). Les plateformes renforcent cette dépendance via des dark patterns, des stratégies manipulant les biais cognitifs pour capter l’attention. Le projet DARKUPI explore ces mécanismes, proposant une typologie de dark patterns sur les médias sociaux et analysant leur lien avec la dépendance numérique à partir d'une enquête menée auprès de 2 547 utilisateurs en France.

The digital economy, in Russia and globally, increasingly draws lawmakers' attention, particularly regarding "dark patterns"—manipulative design tactics influencing user behavior. BigTech companies, like TikTok, leverage such mechanisms to retain users, exemplified by TikTok's endless, dynamically adjusted recommendation feed, creating an "immersion effect." This article analyzes Russian and international regulatory approaches to these practices, with a focus on legislative initiatives protecting consumer rights and combating manipulative designs. While Russian law emphasizes consumer protection and unfair competition, Western countries have introduced specialized norms targeting dark patterns. The article aims to evaluate existing regulations and propose adaptations of effective foreign practices to the Russian legal framework.

Dark patterns, manipulative design tactics, are prevalent in video game monetization systems, particularly those relying on microtransactions. These tactics exploit psychological behaviors to maximize spending, raising ethical concerns and contributing to the negative perception of in-game purchases. This study examines how dark patterns in games differ from other industries, advocating for revised taxonomies that account for gaming’s unique mechanics. It highlights the potential link between these patterns and gambling-like addiction disorders, especially among vulnerable populations, and calls for deeper research to understand their scale, effectiveness, and harm compared to ethical monetization practices.

The opaque nature of transformer-based models, particularly in detecting dark patterns—deceptive design tactics undermining user autonomy—calls for integrating uncertainty quantification to enhance trust. This study proposes a differential fine-tuning approach using uncertainty quantification techniques, such as Spectral-normalized Neural Gaussian Processes (SNGPs) and Bayesian Neural Networks (BNNs), at the classification head of pre-trained models. Evaluating these methods against a dense neural network baseline, the research examines performance, prediction certainty, and environmental impact. Findings show that uncertainty quantification maintains model performance, improves transparency, and provides measurable confidence in predictions without uniformly increasing environmental costs. By enhancing explainability and trust, this approach supports informed decision-making and helps mitigate the influence of dark patterns in user interfaces, highlighting its importance for ethically sensitive applications.

Dark patterns, deceptive design techniques in technology, challenge policymakers due to their impact on user autonomy and financial well-being. This study addresses gaps in research by identifying and quantifying dark patterns across shopping, health and fitness, and education apps in Canada. Analyzing the top three apps per domain, darkness scores were assigned based on identified patterns. Temu (7.5), Yuka-Food & Cosmetic Scanner (5), and Duolingo (6.5) had the highest scores in their categories, with shopping apps showing the highest average darkness scores. The most common tactic was modifying decision space. This study highlights the prevalence and variation of dark patterns across domains, emphasizing the need for quantifiable metrics to guide regulatory efforts and inform researchers and practitioners.

Social media (SM), a key feature of the digital age, has evolved from its Web 2.0 roots into a powerful tool for communication, consumerism, and cultural exchange. Initially limited to static internet pages and basic functionalities like email, SM now boasts 4.6 billion users globally, transforming individual and organizational life. It plays a critical role in digital transformation, enabling remote work, fostering virtual collaboration, and replacing traditional office spaces with technology-driven environments. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated SM's use in onboarding, training, and community building, enhancing workplace belonging and productivity. Despite its growing importance, research on SM in human resource development (HRD) remains limited. This chapter explores SM’s integration into HRD, addressing its role in wellness, visibility, and virtual workforce development, while bridging gaps in understanding its impact on modern workplaces.

Dark patterns, manipulative design tactics often found in social media, push users toward oversharing or excessive use, while bright patterns guide users toward personal goals. This thesis explores bright patterns as a solution to social media issues by inverting 15 dark pattern types specific to the platform. Surveys revealed that more deceptive patterns were less attractive, with Forced Access rated as the worst. Three bright patterns were designed to counter Nagging, False Hierarchy, and Toying with Emotion, aiming to reduce screen time, slow fake news, and promote diverse content. User tests showed bright patterns were less annoying and scored better overall, highlighting their potential to repurpose dark patterns for user benefit, though ethical concerns about targeted manipulation remain.

Dark patterns, manipulative design elements in digital interfaces, raise ethical concerns by prioritizing service providers' interests over users. A recent study introduces the Dark Pattern Analysis Framework (DPAF) to tackle classification inconsistencies, detection tool limitations, and dataset gaps. It identifies 68 dark pattern types with detailed annotations and highlights detection tools' low coverage (45.5%) and datasets' limited comprehensiveness (44%). By standardizing classifications and merging datasets, the research offers critical insights to improve dark pattern detection and drive future advancements in the field.

Digital marketing often faces ethical challenges, particularly with the use of manipulative "dark patterns" such as trick questions, sneak-into-basket, and privacy zuckering, which erode trust and harm reputations. Ethical design emphasizes transparency and user consent, aligning with principles like privacy, accuracy, property rights, and accessibility outlined by Mason. Regulations such as GDPR and PECR enforce responsible data handling and protect users from deceptive practices, while intellectual property laws safeguard content and designs. Companies must ensure ethical data collection, genuine online reviews, and clear communication to maintain trust and compliance. Prioritizing transparency, addressing negative feedback, and avoiding dark patterns are vital for building customer loyalty and managing a positive reputation in the digital landscape.

n contemporary e-commerce, cognitive exploitation has emerged as a critical issue, with suppliers leveraging techniques like nudges, dark patterns, and cognitive biases to manipulate consumer decisions. This article explores the impact of informational asymmetry, fatigue, and selective attention manipulation on consumer vulnerability. It advocates for updated regulations, supplier accountability, consumer education, and proactive roles for regulators and the judiciary. Ultimately, the article calls for a multidisciplinary approach to foster a fairer, more transparent digital marketplace and ensure robust consumer protection.

The rise of big data, machine learning, and AI has transformed digital advertising, enabling precise targeting and tailored content based on user behaviors and demographics. While innovative, these practices raise significant legal and ethical concerns regarding privacy, non-discrimination, and digital autonomy. In response, EU lawmakers have introduced regulations to address these issues. This chapter explores the evolution of EU digital advertising laws, key challenges in their enforcement, and ongoing debates, offering insights and recommendations for ensuring fair and responsible advertising practices.

A recent study examines the influence of dark patterns in online shopping malls, focusing on their impact on consumer attitudes, brand trust, and continued usage intentions after recognizing these manipulative tactics. The findings reveal notable differences in how men and women perceive dark patterns and their subsequent attitudes as consumers. Brand trust emerged as a significant factor, influencing both consumer attitudes and the likelihood of continued use despite awareness of dark patterns. Moreover, consumer attitudes acted as a mediator between brand trust and retention intentions. Interestingly, the level of experience with dark patterns did not moderate the relationship between brand trust and consumer attitudes, suggesting that trust remains a critical determinant regardless of familiarity with manipulative design strategies.

A recent exploration into deceptive design highlights the innovative use of Trickery, a narrative-based serious game designed to expose and educate players about manipulative interface tactics. Incorporating seven gamified deceptive patterns, the game provides players with firsthand experience of the consequences these patterns impose. Through an explorative gameplay study and an accompanying online survey, researchers examined player behavior and the perceived effectiveness of the gamified deceptive patterns in raising awareness. The findings revealed diverse player motivations and justifications when navigating deceptive patterns, as well as critical factors for successfully integrating such patterns into gameplay. This approach offers a promising avenue for enhancing user understanding and resistance to manipulative design practices.

A recent study sheds light on the pervasive use of dark patterns in mobile games, revealing their exploitation of players through temporal, monetary, social, and psychological mechanisms. By analyzing user-generated data from 1,496 games, researchers identified a troubling presence of these manipulative strategies not only in games commonly viewed as problematic but also in those perceived as harmless. This quantitative research underscores ethical concerns surrounding current revenue models in gaming, particularly their impact on vulnerable populations. Highlighting the importance of ethical design, the study advocates for community-based efforts and collaboration among users and industry professionals to foster healthier gaming environments.

E-commerce's growing popularity brings increased challenges for consumers, particularly with the rise of dark patterns—manipulative design elements that prioritize business profits over consumer well-being. While EU consumer protection laws, such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and Consumer Rights Directive, aim to curb exploitative practices, dark patterns present unique challenges. These include exploiting behavioral biases that current laws, focused on information remedies for rational consumers, fail to address; low compliance in digital environments due to the laws' technologically-neutral design; and a gap between the widespread use of dark patterns and limited enforcement efforts. Strengthening digital market oversight with technical solutions, such as computational detection of dark patterns, could enhance consumer protection. This thesis examines how EU law can effectively regulate dark patterns through both legal and technical innovations.

Mobile apps play a critical role in daily life but frequently employ dark patterns—manipulative design techniques like visual tricks or coercive language—to influence user behavior. While current research relies on manual methods to detect these patterns, the process is slow and cannot keep pace with the rapid evolution of apps. AppRay, a novel system, addresses these challenges by combining task-oriented app exploration with automated dark pattern detection. Utilizing large language models and contrastive learning, AppRay identifies both static and dynamic dark patterns efficiently, significantly reducing manual effort. Supported by two comprehensive datasets, AppRay demonstrates strong performance in uncovering deceptive practices across various app interfaces.

A recent study examined the risks of political chatbots as peer-to-peer propaganda tools, focusing on a Facebook Messenger chatbot from Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2019 campaign. Using the Walkthrough Method, researchers identified “dark cycles” involving Reconnaissance (data collection), Training (repetitive messaging and dark patterns), and Activation (task directives). The findings reveal the power dynamics these chatbots exploit, raising concerns about their evolving role in political influence and surveillance.

A recent study examined how Large Language Models (LLMs) adjust language to create personalized persuasive content based on personality traits. By analyzing outputs across 19 LLMs, researchers found distinct patterns: more anxiety-related words for neuroticism, achievement-focused language for conscientiousness, and fewer cognitive process words for openness. The findings reveal LLMs' potential to tailor persuasive communication, with varying success across personality traits.

The 14th Design Thinking Research Symposium (DTRS14), hosted by Mälardalen University, focuses on how design can drive sustainable futures by addressing global challenges like climate change, social inequality, and resource management. Aligned with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, it emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration and human-centered design methods such as co-design and systems thinking. The symposium showcases global insights on using design to foster sustainability and societal progress.

A recent study of 16 U.S. gig work platforms reveals extensive data collection, sharing with up to 60 third parties, and privacy dark patterns that heighten risks for workers. Findings include reversible Social Security Number (SSN) hashes and off-platform nagging tactics. Platforms addressed disclosed SSN issues, confirmed by independent audits. The study calls for stronger privacy protections and offers its data for further research.

A recent study explores how web developers using GPT-4 may unintentionally create deceptive designs (DD) in website features. Involving 20 participants, the study tasked users with generating product and checkout pages for a fictitious webshop using ChatGPT, followed by adjustments to boost sales. All 20 websites ended up containing DD patterns, averaging 5 per site, with GPT-4 offering no warnings. Notably, only 4 participants expressed ethical concerns, with most viewing the designs as effective and acceptable. These findings underscore potential ethical and legal risks in relying on LLM-generated design recommendations without careful oversight.

Antitrust laws often struggle to curb Big Tech’s anticompetitive business models, where dark patterns complicate enforcement. Austrian criminal law may fill this gap by addressing potentially deceptive practices. Amazon’s Prime and BuyBox, Google’s Search and Bard, and mechanisms like Activision Blizzard’s lootboxes and Engagement Optimised Matchmaking (EOMM) algorithms may constitute commercial fraud under §§ 146, 148 StGB, as they appear designed to mislead consumers for profit.

This special issue aims to deepen research on deceptive designs—manipulative digital features that exploit cognitive biases to influence user choices without full consent. As these designs proliferate on digital platforms and are enhanced by AI and immersive technologies, regulatory efforts across the EU, US, and India seek to curb their use. This issue invites interdisciplinary studies on the behavioral impacts of deceptive designs, effects on vulnerable users, regulatory strategies, and theoretical advancements in cognitive biases. Insights from psychology, economics, HCI, and law will support a framework for understanding and mitigating these designs in evolving digital contexts.

This chapter presents research on user experience in video games, aiming to identify core parameters that address user needs. Key factors—usability, engageability, motivation, emotion, immersion, and commitment—were analyzed as essential elements of a positive gaming experience. A specific heuristic evaluation was developed, incorporating these principles along with targeted questions to enhance video game assessments. This extended evaluation, optional and tailored for gaming, provides a refined tool for analyzing user experience in video games.

As the data ecosystem becomes increasingly intertwined with daily life, every action generates value within the data economy, raising the need for authorities to protect diverse and sometimes conflicting stakeholder interests. Despite existing regulations, effective compliance remains challenging due to a lack of suitable technical and organizational tools and adequately prepared oversight bodies. This paper explores how FACT principles, FAIR principles, and Open Personal Data Stores could guide ethical pathways for the data economy. Through ethical, economic, and legal lenses, it presents findings from literature review and content analysis, offering recommendations to help stakeholders better integrate ethics into the data economy.

Social robots, designed to foster trust and companionship, often incorporate elements that can lead to user manipulation and addiction. To address these risks, this thesis proposes using Vulnerability Theory to assess Human-Robot Interaction by balancing dependency with resilience, ensuring ethical, user-centered design. The "Safety and Intimacy in Human-Robot Interaction Pipeline" serves as a tool to analyze these interactions, supporting regulations aimed at protecting users from manipulation.

This study presents the design of a field experiment examining the effects of online tracking, targeting, ad-blocking, and anti-tracking technologies on consumer behavior and economic outcomes. While the online data industry promotes the benefits of tracking for targeted advertising, privacy concerns persist regarding the extensive tracking of consumers without their knowledge. The experiment aims to analyze how these technologies influence online browsing, shopping behavior, and purchasing decisions, focusing on metrics like spending, product prices, search time, and purchase satisfaction. The study outlines the rationale, experimental design, and data collection plans for these investigations.

Protecting the rights of algorithmic consumers is crucial for the healthy growth of the digital economy. Dark patterns, which manipulate consumer decision-making through platform interfaces, disrupt traditional marketing methods. These patterns exploit cognitive biases, reducing consumer autonomy and rationality. They can be categorized as inducing, deceptive, or manipulative, each with varying impacts, such as compromising personal information and undermining consumer autonomy. The U.S. and the EU tackle dark patterns through legislation, with the U.S. focusing on specialized laws and the EU combining rules and standards. A governance approach tailored to local contexts, involving regulation, protection, and collaboration, is needed to balance platform operators' interests and safeguard consumers, fostering a healthier digital economy.

A study on dark patterns in social media reveals their influence on user engagement and impulse buying. Based on 492 participants from PSUT in Jordan, the research found that time, effort, pleasure, and social acceptance positively affect engagement, while non-routine behavior has a negative impact. Engagement, in turn, boosts impulse buying. The study emphasizes the need for ethical marketing, as dark patterns can erode trust and harm long-term relationships.

This thesis explores how dark design patterns in casual mobile games exploit cognitive biases. While ethical concerns have been discussed, the cognitive mechanisms behind these patterns are less understood. Through interviews with mobile game players, the study finds that monetary tactics like hidden costs are more easily recognized than social or temporal patterns, with loss aversion being a key bias exploited. Many players express frustration with these manipulative designs. The thesis calls for greater awareness and discussions on ethical design and regulatory measures in mobile gaming.

A recent study explores the concept of Interactive Dark Patterns (IDPs), a subset of dark patterns that engage users through multiple steps or screens to manipulate their choices. While dark patterns have been widely studied since Harry Brignull's identification of them in 2010, the interactive nature of some patterns has been overlooked. This research aims to empower ordinary mobile application users by increasing their ability to recognize and avoid these deceptive design tactics through targeted training interventions. The study found that such training significantly reduced user entrapment, with the entrapment rate dropping from 79% to 27% post-training, highlighting the effectiveness of awareness-building in mitigating the impact of IDPs. These findings have broader implications for mobile app developers, UX/UI designers, and digital ethicists, emphasizing the importance of ethical design practices.

Dark patterns, which manipulate consumer behavior, have become widespread in digital markets, influencing how online consumers perceive, behave, and make purchases. A novel empirical study reveals that individuals across all demographic groups are vulnerable to these manipulative tactics, with little evidence suggesting that common markers of consumer vulnerability, such as income, education, or age, significantly reduce susceptibility. These findings support broad restrictions on the use of dark patterns, as proposed in the EU’s Digital Services Act, to protect all consumers. The study also highlights that dark patterns are less effective when added friction, such as a required payment step, is introduced. This indicates that dark patterns are most effective in scenarios where no further user action, such as additional payment steps, is required, particularly when online providers store payment information for 'single-click' purchases.

A recent evaluation of alcohol-industry-funded (AIF) digital tools, such as blood alcohol calculators and consumption trackers, has revealed significant concerns regarding misinformation and manipulative design tactics. These tools, distributed by organizations like Drinkaware and Drinkwise, were found to contain health misinformation and "dark patterns" that potentially influence users towards increased alcohol consumption. Compared to non-industry-funded tools, AIF tools provided significantly less accurate health feedback (33% vs 100%), omitted crucial information about cancer and cardiovascular disease, and promoted industry-friendly narratives. Moreover, these tools employed techniques like priming nudges and social norming to encourage consumption, offering fewer behavior change techniques and restricted user input options. The study concludes that AIF tools may function as covert marketing channels, misleading users and promoting continued alcohol consumption through manipulative "Dark Apps" design strategies.

In recent years, concerns have intensified regarding the influence that digital architectures exert on individuals and societies, particularly through the use of dark patterns—manipulative interface designs embedded in digital services. While these tactics can affect anyone, traditional legal frameworks often focus on certain vulnerable groups, such as children. However, empirical research indicates that vulnerability to dark patterns is shaped by various factors, beyond the traditional group-based classifications. This article aims to deepen the understanding of this issue by offering a multidisciplinary analysis of the factors contributing to vulnerability, evaluating the feasibility of risk assessments in three EU legal frameworks—the GDPR, the Digital Services Act, and the Artificial Intelligence Act—and proposing strategies to enhance resilience to manipulative digital designs.

Recent research highlights the growing use of dark patterns—malicious interface design strategies that push users into making decisions against their best interests—across apps and websites. While previous studies have primarily focused on how these manipulative tactics affect adults, children are increasingly exposed to them. To explore how dark patterns impact younger audiences, researchers conducted a study with 66 fifth-grade students (aged 10–11) at a German school. The study revealed that many children could recognize simple manipulative tactics, such as complex wording and color-based manipulations, but most struggled to identify bad privacy defaults, indicating a particular vulnerability to privacy-related dark patterns.

This literature review explores the complex interactions between dating app ecosystems, advertising strategies, and the integration of dark patterns—subtle design techniques that influence user behavior. Through an analysis of existing research, the review highlights how dating apps strategically use advertising to boost user engagement, shape interactions, and increase revenue. It also addresses the ethical concerns surrounding the use of dark patterns, questioning the fine line between guiding user decisions and manipulating behavior. Additionally, the review examines user data privacy, focusing on how dating apps collect and utilize personal data for targeted advertising, while raising concerns about potential privacy risks and the regulatory measures in place to protect users. By synthesizing these themes, the article contributes to an ongoing discussion about responsible tech design, emphasizing user well-being, transparency, and ethical standards in the digital space.

The growing prevalence of cyberbullying on online social platforms has highlighted the need for effective detection and mitigation strategies. This study introduces a comprehensive approach to preprocessing and analyzing Twitter data to identify instances of cyberbullying. The research begins with loading a dataset of tweets labeled as positive or negative and conducting exploratory data analysis to understand sentiment distribution. The text data is then preprocessed through steps such as noise removal (eliminating URLs, mentions, punctuation), stopword removal, and lemmatization, which enhances the quality of the dataset. The study also examines word and character count distributions to gain insights into tweet lengths. This methodology lays the groundwork for further investigation into the patterns of cyberbullying, contributing to the creation of data-driven solutions to combat such behavior and fostering a safer online environment.

The increased time spent by users in virtual environments and the influence of AI-driven choice architectures have raised concerns about how AI systems can subtly persuade users' actions. This issue is examined through the concept of "dark patterns," which are interface designs that manipulate user behavior in ways that may not be beneficial to them. Although regulatory measures have been introduced in various regions, including India, the article argues that these regulations are insufficient to address AI-powered dark patterns. Such patterns operate at a deeper behavioral level, making users' choices appear uninfluenced by manipulation. The article concludes by advocating for a more comprehensive approach to tackle the persuasive tactics employed by AI systems.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandates that businesses offer consumers a clear way to opt out of the sale and sharing of their personal information. However, many businesses leverage control over the opt-out process to impose obstacles on consumers, including the use of dark patterns. The enactment of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) aims to strengthen the CCPA and explicitly prohibits certain dark patterns in these processes. Despite these regulatory efforts, research shows that websites continue to employ a variety of dark patterns, some of which exploit legal loopholes, highlighting the need for further action by policymakers.

This book examines the evolution of legal design, which uses design methods to make legal systems more accessible. Initially focused on problem-solving, legal design now incorporates speculative design, proactive law, and insights from fields like cognitive science and philosophy. Featuring twelve essays from the 2023 Legal Design Roundtable, the book offers diverse perspectives from academics and professionals, exploring new approaches and practical applications. It’s a valuable resource for those interested in innovative, human-centered approaches to law.

Dark patterns are deceptive design practices that impair users' ability to make autonomous and informed decisions, as defined by the European Digital Services Act (DSA). These patterns manipulate users into actions that benefit service providers, such as accepting disadvantageous terms, making unwanted financial transactions, or disclosing personal information. Despite increased regulatory attention and scholarly interest, dark patterns continue to proliferate across digital platforms. This thesis examines dark patterns across various digital contexts, including web and mobile interfaces, IoT devices, and social robots, combining human-computer interaction studies with legal analysis to identify opportunities for mitigating their negative impact.

Technological progress has led to the blending of market techniques from various economic sectors, resulting in the use of diverse rules and instruments and the emergence of novel market practices. This disruptive innovation, especially evident in the crypto-asset market, challenges the application and interpretation of existing rules against market malpractice. After analyzing digital market practices like gamification and dark patterns, this thesis examines the compatibility and adaptability of rules on unfair commercial practices within the evolving digital landscape of the crypto market.

This thesis explores how dark patterns in cookie consent dialogues influence user behavior. An experiment using eye tracking revealed that while wording on button labels significantly affected task completion times, visual design changes did not. Participants generally read from left to right, but individual habits played a larger role in their interactions, indicating that established design conventions are more influential than minor visual tweaks in guiding user decisions.

This study examines the hidden costs and benefits of zero-price digital services, highlighting that while users derive significant value from "free" apps, they also face challenges like procrastination, sleep deprivation, and reduced focus. Based on survey data from 196 participants in Linköping, Sweden, the research reveals a growing consumer preference for paid services over free ones, suggesting a shift in attitudes towards digital payment models. The findings underscore the need for greater corporate transparency and user awareness about non-monetary costs, as well as a balanced approach to user protection and innovation in the digital economy.

In the world of online shopping, "dark patterns" are deceptive design tactics that manipulate consumers into unintended actions like purchases or subscriptions. This study examines their prevalence on fashion websites, finding that 78.4% use these tactics, with Nagging and Limited-time Messages being the most common. Fashion sites use more visual dark patterns than general e-commerce sites, and there's a link between these tactics and website popularity. While user reactions to dark patterns vary, prior trust in a brand can reduce their negative impact.

This chapter explores the challenges posed by data-driven technologies to consumer consent, particularly in the context of manipulative practices known as dark patterns. It begins by examining various dark design strategies that exploit consumer vulnerabilities, especially cognitive biases. The chapter then critiques the limitations of the European information-based approach, which forms the foundation of data protection and consumer law, arguing that current regulations are ill-equipped to address digital vulnerabilities. The analysis highlights the inadequacy of a "one-size-fits-all" model like the GDPR and advocates for a more holistic approach to consumer consent protection. It suggests that integrating legal considerations into the design phase of technological architectures could enhance the protection of consumers' authentic choices and prevent manipulative practices.

This study examines the impact of "dark patterns," interface designs that nudge consumers into sharing data under regulations like the GDPR. A field experiment shows that, even without dark patterns, consumers accept cookies more than half the time. Dark patterns, especially those hiding consent options behind extra clicks, significantly influence choices. Larger, well-known firms see slightly higher consent rates, but site popularity doesn't affect the impact of dark patterns. The study also finds no evidence of choice fatigue from repeated pop-ups.

"Dark patterns," deceptive designs that lead users to benefit service providers, are common in digital marketing. While deceived users often face financial or time costs, non-deceived users—those who recognize and avoid these patterns—may also experience stress and frustration due to the extra effort required. This study focuses on these non-deceived users, exploring how the effort to avoid dark patterns can negatively impact usability and potentially erode trust in service providers.

Advancements in Mixed Reality (MR) technology have made it more accessible to consumers, but this has also led to an increase in dark patterns—manipulative design tactics that deceive users. This research examines these tactics in MR environments, analyzing 80 applications and identifying five key dark patterns: Hidden Costs, Misinformation, Button Camouflage, Forced Continuity, and Disguised Ads. The study highlights the harmful impact of these patterns on user trust and decision-making.

Although numerous Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) studies have empirically investigated the harms caused by dark patterns, and policymakers and regulators acknowledge these harms as significant, they have yet to be thoroughly examined from a legal perspective. This paper addresses this gap by identifying and analyzing the harms associated with dark patterns (DP), focusing on their role in the emerging European 'dark patterns acquis'. The paper organizes existing knowledge on dark pattern harms from HCI research and proposes a taxonomy of these harms. It also bridges the discussion of dark pattern harms in HCI with the legal frameworks for assessing harms under European data protection, consumer law, and competition law.

This research highlights that the growing number and diversity of dark patterns means that each specific form, and its legal assessment, must be evaluated based on how it is used and the intentions behind its use.

This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 12th Annual Privacy Forum on Privacy Technologies and Policy (APF 2024), held in Karlstad, Sweden, on September 4–5, 2024. The conference featured 12 full papers, carefully selected from 60 submissions, and aimed to bring together experts from policy, academia, and industry to discuss privacy and data protection. The 2024 conference particularly focused on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and emerging legislation around European Data Spaces and Artificial Intelligence. Chapters 3, 9, and 12 are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, as detailed in the respective chapters.

As video games have become a mainstream form of entertainment, they have sparked new media concerns, including gaming addiction, screen time effects, gambling-like mechanics, dark patterns, and online toxicity. Additionally, issues like harassment, discrimination, and poor working conditions in the gaming industry are gaining attention. To address these concerns, the first Ethical Games Conference in 2024 brought together research on ethical issues in gaming, aiming to create evidence-based guidelines for the industry and regulators. This special issue features selected papers and opinion pieces, highlighting challenges and exploring how games can be leveraged for positive social impact.

"Light Up" is an educational game designed to expose the prevalence of UX dark patterns on websites. It simulates real-world scenarios where users are manipulated into actions they might avoid, helping players identify and understand these deceptive tactics. The game aims to raise awareness of the harm caused by dark patterns and empower users to resist them, protecting their privacy, finances, and autonomy online.