Dark patterns are user interfaces whose designers knowingly confuse users, make it difficult for users to express their actual preferences, or manipulate users into taking certain actions. They typically exploit cognitive biases and prompt online consumers to purchase goods and services that they do not want or to reveal personal information they would prefer not to disclose. This article provides the first public evidence of the power of dark patterns. It discusses the results of the authors’ two large-scale experiments in which representative samples of American consumers were exposed to dark patterns. In the first study, users exposed to mild dark patterns were more than twice as likely to sign up for a dubious service as those assigned to the control group, and users in the aggressive dark pattern condition were almost four times as likely to subscribe. Moreover, whereas aggressive dark patterns generated a powerful backlash among consumers, mild dark patterns did not. Less educated subjects were significantly more susceptible to mild dark patterns than their well-educated counterparts. The second study identified the dark patterns that seem most likely to nudge consumers into making decisions that they are likely to regret or misunderstand. Hidden information, trick question, and obstruction strategies were particularly likely to manipulate consumers successfully. Other strategies employing loaded language or generating bandwagon effects worked moderately well, while still others such as “must act now” messages did not make consumers more likely to purchase a costly service. Our second study also replicated a striking result in the first experiment, which is that where dark patterns were employed the cost of the service offered to consumers became immaterial. Decision architecture, not price, drove consumer purchasing decisions. The article concludes by examining legal frameworks for addressing dark patterns. Many dark patterns appear to violate federal and state laws restricting the use of unfair and deceptive practices in trade. Moreover, in those instances where consumers enter into contracts after being exposed to dark patterns, their consent could be deemed voidable under contract law principles. The article also proposes that dark pattern audits become part of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)’s consent decree process. Dark patterns are presumably proliferating because firms’ proprietary A-B testing has revealed them to be profit maximizing. We show how similar A-B testing can be used to identify those dark patterns that are so manipulative that they ought to be deemed unlawful.

中文翻译：

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照亮深色图案

深色模式是用户界面，其设计者会故意使用户感到困惑，使用户难以表达其实际偏好，或操纵用户采取某些行动。他们通常会利用认知偏见并提示在线消费者购买他们不想要的商品和服务，或者泄露他们不愿透露的个人信息。本文提供了暗图案功能的第一个公开证据。它讨论了作者的两次大规模实验的结果，在这些实验中，美国消费者的代表性样本暴露于深色图案。在第一项研究中，暴露于轻度深色模式的用户注册可疑服务的可能性是分配给对照组的用户的两倍以上，而处于激进黑暗模式条件下的用户订阅的可能性几乎是后者的四倍。而且，尽管激进的深色图案在消费者中引起强烈反响，但温和的深色图案却没有。受教育程度较低的受试者比受过良好教育的受试者明显更容易受到轻度黑暗模式的影响。第二项研究确定了似乎最有可能促使消费者做出他们可能后悔或误解的决策的黑暗模式。隐藏的信息，技巧问题和阻碍策略尤其容易成功地操纵消费者。其他采用加载语言或产生流行效果的策略效果也不错，而诸如“必须立即行动”之类的其他策略并没有使消费者更有可能购买昂贵的服务。我们的第二项研究在第一个实验中也复制了一个惊人的结果，那就是在采用深色模式的情况下，向消费者提供的服务成本变得无关紧要。决策架构而非价格推动了消费者的购买决策。本文的结尾是研究用于解决黑暗模式的法律框架。许多黑暗模式似乎违反了联邦和州法律，限制了在贸易中使用不公平和欺骗性的做法。此外，在消费者暴露于黑暗模式之后订立合同的情况下，根据合同法原则，他们的同意可能被视为无效。文章还建议，暗模式审计应成为联邦贸易委员会（FTC）同意令过程的一部分。暗色模式可能正在激增，因为公司专有的AB测试表明它们可以最大程度地获利。我们展示了如何使用相似的AB测试来识别那些暗淡的图案，这些暗淡的图案具有操纵性，因此应将其视为非法。