Prawo Nowych Technologii
no. 3/2023
Dark patterns from the perspective of personal data protection (GDPR) and the Digital Services Act (DSA)
DOI: 10.32027/PNT.23.3-4.15
Dr. Autor jest radcą prawnym w Leśniewski Borkiewicz Kostka & Partners, przewodniczącym Komisji ds. Nowych Technologii i Transformacji Cyfrowej przy Okręgowej Izbie Radców Prawnych we Wrocławiu oraz koordynatorem zespołu ds. nowych technologii w wymiarze sprawiedliwości w Ośrodku Studiów, Badań i Legislacji Krajowej Rady Radców Prawnych
Abstract
The purpose of this publication is to analyse the issue of dark (deceptive) patterns from the perspective of both the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Digital Services Act (DSA)
Relevant from the perspective of the topic of the article is the analysis of the European Data Protection Board’s Guideline 3/2022 on deceptive design patterns in social media, which is one of the most valuable documents as regards this issue. Categories and types of such interface designs are listed, as well as recommendations for interface designs. Although the Guidelines focus on the functioning of social media, there is no doubt that they will be applicable to other parts of the digital sector.
Article 25 of the AUC, whose primary purpose is to complement the existing regulations dedicated to countering deceptive designs, namely the GDPR and the Unfair Market Practices Directive, has been also analysed. Regardless, given the construction of the provision, there are concerns about its actual meaning in the system of countering dark patterns.
Keywords
Digital Services Act, DSA, GDPR, General Data Protection Regulation, Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Article 25 AUC, dark patterns, online platform, deceptive design patterns, Guidelines 3/2022, overloading, continuous prompting, privacy maze, too many options, skipping, deceptive snugness, look over there, stirring, emotional steering, hidden in plain sight, obstructing, dead end, longer than necessary, misleading action, fickle, lacking hierarchy, decontextualisation, inconsistent interface, language discontinuity, left in the dark, conflicting information, ambiguous wording or information
