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This german language article on spiegel.de introduces the concept of dark patterns.

The 'platformisation' of the games industry is posing some serious challenges for Europe and the internet at large.

The third-party cookie is dying, and Google is trying to create its replacement. No one should mourn the death of the cookie as we know it.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement after Governor Ralph Northam signed the Consumer Data Protection Act into state law:

EPIC has filed a complaint with the D.C. Attorney General alleging that Amazon unlawfully employs manipulative "dark patterns" in the Amazon Prime subscription cancellation process.

The 11-month old audio social network is compelling. It also has some very grown-up problems.

Clubhouse, the new audio-based social media app... is gaining lots of attention. Part of its popularity comes from it being pegged as the next social media giant. Beyond the hype, its epic product privacy failures are what warrants scrutiny.

An exchange between Congresswoman Cindy Axne of Iowa and CEO of Robinhood Vlad Tenev "opened a window into a sick business model on Wall Street that is pumping out billionaires like Citadel’s Ken Griffin while seducing young people with the gamification of trading."

Des fenêtres de navigation qui s’ouvrent inopinément, des couleurs criardes qui attirent l’œil, des caractères minuscules… Internet est rempli de désagréments en tout genre. Tout ceci est savamment conçu pour piéger l’internaute et porte un nom : les dark patterns. Explications.

"In today's video, we will go through dark patterns in UI and UX. These patterns are often misleading and almost blackmailing in nature. They make you feel bad about certain decisions you take and only benefit the business."

In the last days, the most recent Instagram update has been in the news for the worst reasons. Many users and influencers have publicly spoken out their dissatisfaction, namely James Charles, who, in a rant video, advised his followers not to update their apps.

"Video about the difference between dark patterns & things badly designed by accident. With some hilarious examples of bad design"

"A group of researchers at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP) has just published the findings of its research into a collection of 100,000 political emails, including those from the Trump campaign. It found that the majority of emails used “dark patterns” to manipulate voters and trick donors."

"Whereas some campaigns might communicate with supporters for the purpose of grass-roots organizing, the Trump emails I receive have only one purpose: to gin up contributions. And the solicitations are unlike any I’ve ever seen. Tonally, they diverge wildly from those of past presidential campaigns — or from anything that might be termed “presidential” at all."

"A new study out of Princeton shows that the vast majority of campaigns use dark patterns and clickbait subject lines to beg for donations."

Social media platforms repeatedly use so-called dark patterns to nudge you toward giving away more of your data.

"Last year, researchers from Princeton University and the University of Chicago published a study looking at roughly 11,000 shopping sites, and found dark patterns on more than 11 percent of them, including major retailers like Fashion Nova and J.C. Penney. The researchers discovered that the more popular the website, the more likely it was to feature dark patterns."

Some say designers are uniquely positioned to stop the madness. What will it take to make the changes we desperately need?

In Mexico, large Black octagons are now placed on the packaging of products that are high in saturated fat, trans fat, sugar, sodium or calories.

You've seen them before: the UX ploys designed to trick you into spending money, or make it nearly impossible to unsubscribe. Here's what to look out for.

"After reviewing 200 of the top shopping sites, including Amazon, eBay and Macys.com, a study by the University of Michigan’s School of Information found that all the sites had an average of 19 features that could encourage impulse buying, such as limited-time discounts and wording that made an item seem like it was almost out of stock.

"If you’ve wondered whether there were actually 30 people trying to book the same flight as you, you’re not alone. As Chris Baraniuk finds, the numbers may not be all they seem."

"Many e-commerce offers are pushed with fake notifications, bogus countdown timers and other misleading tactics"

"Members of Princeton’s Web Transparency & Accountability Project (WebTAP) used automated web-crawling programs to assemble a list of the dark patterns the programs could see in a page’s text. Then they classified the dark patterns’ methods systematically.

"Many streaming customers are unaware that the sitcom titles they prefer, the ads they do not skip, their email addresses and the serial numbers identifying the devices they use are being harvested and distributed."

"Add smart TVs to the growing list of home appliances guilty of surveilling people’s movements. A new study from Princeton University shows internet-connected TVs, which allow people to stream Netflix and Hulu, are loaded with data-hungry trackers."

"Online shopping turns your brain against you, but you can fight back."

"'Alexandra from Anaheim just saved $222 on her order' says one message next to an image of a bright, multicolored dress. [...] But “Alexandra from Anaheim” did not buy the dress. She does not exist."

"'Alexandra from Anaheim' was among the shoppers that visitors to ThredUp were told had recently bought items on the site. But she didn’t exist."

Ever looked for an online cancel button and struggled to find it? ‘Dark patterns’ may be to blame (Opinion feature in FT Magazine)

"Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced a bill that would prohibit large internet platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google from using deceptive design tricks as methods to trick users into handing over their personal data."

"A chat about the dark pattern of “Confirm shaming”, which guilts the user into opting into something. Often seen on an exit intent popup, or a registration form, the words that course you into taking an action that benefits the website owner is getting more extreme."

“I can’t think of a single reason why a pair of workout earbuds need access to someone’s menstrual history. We should just call it what it is because, at that point, it doesn’t feel like a transaction anymore. It’s just spying.”

"When Texas’ early voting process started, some people finished filling out their ballot only to see that their choices had been changed — either switched from one party to another, or erased completely. This seemed like a bug at best, or deliberate election tampering at worst."

News article responding to the Norwegian Consumer Council's "Deceived by Design" report.

The 2017 Nobel Prize was awarded to Richard H. Thaler "for his contributions to behavioural economics", integrating economics with psychology. Behavioural economics is widely considered to be a useful framework with which to consider Dark Patterns.

"This year, it felt like nearly every app and product had embraced some form of dark pattern. Users tweeted about seeing them on Skype, Facebook, Amazon, Uber, Office Depot, even America’s Test Kitchen, and yes, LinkedIn–truly a dark pattern early adopter."

Harry Brignull, a user-experience consultant in Britain who helps websites and apps develop consumer-friendly features, has a professional bone to pick with sites that seem to maneuver people into signing up for services they might not actually want