Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Deb Fischer (R-Nebraska) have introduced legislation to ban so-called “dark patterns” tactics designed to trick users into handing over access to their data, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
Dark patterns, a term first popularized by the website darkpatterns.org, describe everything from UI elements to technical tricks designed to lure users into taking actions they might not otherwise agree to, such as presenting them with in-app purchase buttons or data-sharing agreements designed to appear like more mundane functions. In the video below, UX expert Harry Brignull characterizes it as a kind of catch-all term that also includes things like a “roach motel: a design that makes it very easy for you to get into a situation, but very hard to get out”: One such example is the maze of menus Amazon customers must navigate through to delete their accounts.
If the concept is still a little fuzzy, Dark Patterns runs a Wall of Shame highlighting some of the worst practices.
The bill, called the Deceptive Experiences To Online Users Reduction (DETOUR) Act, does not distinguish between mobile apps and desktop browsing experiences.
According to a draft of the bill, the legislation makes it illegal for large, public online services of more than 100 million monthly active users to “design, modify, or manipulate a user interface with the purpose or substantial effect of obscuring, subverting, or impairing user autonomy, decision-making, or choice to obtain consent or user data.”