Deceptive Patterns
‹ All enforcement USA

Federal Trade Commission v. Universal City Nissan

Jurisdiction
USA
Authority
United States District Court Central District of California
Date
6 Dec 2018
Case number
2:16-cv-07329
Outcome
$3.5 million in fines

Case summary

Sage Auto coerced users to sign different contracts, charged for unauthrosied add-ons and faked its reviews.

Our analysis

Paragraph 430 addressed the “default effect”. The Bundeskartellamt explained that users frequently retain preinstalled applications because changing the existing configuration requires effort. It used this analysis to demonstrate how Microsoft could benefit competitively from integrating and preselecting its services within Windows.

Outcome

As a case outcome, the Sage Auto Group and its owners are ordered to pay $3.5 million in fines and are prohibited from making misrepresentations related to the sale, financing, or leasing of vehicles, addressing deceptive and unfair sales and financing tactics.

Parties

Federal Trade Commission and Universal City Nissan

View the decision

Related deceptive patterns

Forced action ›The user wants to do something, but they are required to do something else undesirable in return.Fake social proof ›The user is misled into believing a product is more popular or credible than it really is, because they were shown fake reviews, testimonials, or activity messages.Hidden costs ›The user is enticed with a low advertised price. After investing time and effort, they discover unexpected fees and charges when they reach the checkout.

Related rules

Federal Trade Commission Act - Section 5(a), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a) ›Prohibits deceptive acts or practices that misrepresent or omit material facts.