Dark Patterns in Online Platforms: Illegal Methods for Retrieving Personal Data and the Possible Remedies

Platformjog és adatvédelem

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore whether EU legislation is keeping pace with the proliferation of dark patterns, i.e., deceptive user interface design, on online platforms to harvest personal data for commercial purposes. While the platform operators need as much (and accurate) personal data as possible for algorithmic, personalised and targeted marketing techniques, even at the cost of minor or major abuses, the users’ interests are to keep their personal data confidential and to preserve the right to control the access to them. The Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act introduce obligations on the platform providers and the intermediaries. However, legal action against deceptive design patterns requires a broader perspective, and in this paper, we extend the analysis to certain aspects of the data protection law and the EU digital acquis.
The first section of this paper deals with the legal concept and categorisation of deceptive interface design. The second section lists the provisions of the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act on deceptive interface design patterns, particularly regarding the implications for data protection, and tries to identify their shortcomings. The third section gathers and analyses international recommendations and suggestions for better regulation to counter unfair data retrieval practices and growing information asymmetry.