FTC Staff Report Brings Dark Patterns To Light

Trick or treat? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff is focused on one "trick" this spooky season: Designing user interfaces to trick or manipulate users into taking actions they would not otherwise approve of, or putting obstacles in place to discourage consumers from exercising certain rights. These so-called "dark patterns" are a continued focus of the FTC, as discussed in a prior alert (regarding online subscriptions and e-commerce practices). Dark patterns were also specifically called out in a number of new state privacy laws. A recently released FTC staff report on dark patterns indicates that this focus is only growing, and that dark patterns can encompass a wide range of common marketing practices – from urgency offers to fee disclosures.