Dark Patterns on the Internet

Topic- Science and Technology [GS Paper-3]

Context- Some Internet-based firms have been tricking users into agreeing to certain terms and conditions or clicking a few links.

Key Highlights 

• Dark Patterns are unethical user interface designs which deliberately make users’ Internet experience harder or even exploit them. 
• In turn, they benefit the company or platform by employing the designs.
• By using dark patterns, digital platforms take away a user’s right to full information about the services they are using and their control over their browsing experience on the Internet.
• The term is credited to UI/UX (user interface/user experience) researcher and designer Harry Brignull, who has been working to catalogue such patterns and the companies using them since 2010. 

Use of Dark patterns

• Social media companies and Big Tech firms like Apple, Amazon, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Google use dark or deceptive patterns to downgrade the user experience to their advantage. 
• In social media, LinkedIn users often receive unsolicited, sponsored messages from certain influencers. 

Concerns

• Dark patterns endanger the experience of Internet users and make them vulnerable to financial and data exploitation by Big Tech firms. 
• Disabling this option is a complicated process with multiple steps which require users to be familiar with the platform controls.
• Dark patterns confuse users, introduce online obstacles, make simple tasks time-consuming, and have users sign up for unwanted services or products.

Way Ahead

• Internet users who are able to identify and recognise dark patterns in their daily lives can choose more user-friendly platforms which will respect their right to choose and privacy.

Download as PDF