Dark Patterns — How Brands Can Avoid Deceptive User Interfaces In Ad Campaigns

Privacy and Cybersecurity co-leader Liisa Thomas published an article on AdAge.com in connection with ensuring brands' advertising campaigns are not labeled "dark patterns." As Liisa describes in her article, the term "dark pattern," that was coined in 2010 to describe deceptive user interfaces, has been gaining traction over the past several years. The term suggests an effort to trick, deceive, mislead and otherwise hoodwinking the average consumer. These are not the kind of activities in which most advertisers think they are engaging when creating a campaign. Instead, brands' goals are to create a meaningful and valuable connection with consumers. Regulators, however, seem to think differently.