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https://theconversation.com/hidden-costs-manipulation-forced-continuity-report-reveals-how-australian-consumers-are-being-duped-online-184450>
"Australian consumers’ choices on websites and apps are being manipulated
through online designs taking advantage of their weaknesses. That’s according
to research on consumers’ online experiences and the presentation of websites
and apps, released today by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC).
The research gives examples of consumers being manipulated or deceived into
unintentionally buying items, paying more, or giving up more personal data than
they meant to.
Examples include situations where an online store automatically added items to
consumers’ carts, and “Hotel California” techniques which make it easy to
subscribe to a service, but much harder to unsubscribe.
According to the CPRC’s findings, 83% of Australians surveyed had experienced
one or more negative consequences – including financial harm or feeling
manipulated – as a result of these “dark patterns”.
Some misleading designs breach the Australian Consumer Law. However, not all
designs that have unfair consequences will necessarily be captured under the
law. The latest report adds to existing calls to amend consumer law by
introducing a ban on unfair trading practices."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
