Epilogue
The topic of deceptive patterns has evolved rapidly, and it now sits at the intersection between applied psychology, design and law. The next wave of progress needs to incorporate expertise from all three worlds. We need to work together.
In an effort towards this goal, the deceptive.design website is now a collaborative project. Dr Mark Leiser, Dr Cristiana Santos and Kosha Doshi have joined the deceptive.design team, bringing expertise in legislation and regulation.1
The new website joins the dots between deceptive patterns, laws and enforcement. The idea is that when someone reads about a deceptive pattern, they’ll be able to also see the laws that pattern breaks in the US or EU, and any legal cases or enforcement actions that have happened, including the size of the fines and the outcomes. The intention is to equip designers, engineers and other employees with new, more powerful materials in the fight against deceptive patterns in their workplace. Instead of going to their boss and saying, ‘This is a deceptive pattern. We shouldn’t use it or we’ll be named and shamed’, they will now be able to say ‘This is a deceptive pattern. It breaks these specific laws, and these are all the legal cases that have happened to companies that have done this. Look at the size of the penalties they faced.’ This is a much more powerful way to talk to business owners – the language of risk and balance sheets.
For us to sustain this project, we need your help. If you see any examples for the hall of shame, share them on social media or send them in using the share section on the site. If you’re a researcher who has published something, send us your links for the reading list. And if you’re familiar with laws and legal cases, tell us about them. Every contribution, no matter how small, will make a difference.