December
8 Million Users’ AI Conversations Sold for Profit by “Privacy” Extensions | Koi Blog
Idan Dardikman,,
October
Why bosses need to wake up to dark patterns | The Economist
Dark patterns, which manipulate users into actions they might not otherwise take, can be very effective, at least in the short term. But they can also produce unintended negative consequences
The Economist
Amazon Prime’s $2.5B FTC Settlement: Learn Who’s Eligible and How Much Payouts Will Be
The online retail giant will soon begin paying misled customers who subscribed to Amazon Prime.
See full bio
September
Beware of deceptive design: Tips for individuals when navigating websites and mobile apps - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Key takeaways to help individuals identify deceptive design patterns and avoid sharing personal information unnecessarily
AI Chatbots Are Emotionally Deceptive by Design | TechPolicy.Press
Chatbots should stop pretending to be human, writes the Center for Democracy & Technology’s Dr. Michal Luria.
Michal Luria
August
GitHub - laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-AI-Blocklist: A huge blocklist of manually curated sites that contain AI generated imagery for uBlock Origin & uBlacklist.
A huge blocklist of manually curated sites that contain AI generated imagery for uBlock Origin & uBlacklist. - laylavish/uBlockOrigin-HUGE-AI-Blocklist
laylavish
Act Surprised: Data Brokers Seem to Scoff at California Privacy Act
Privacy Rights Crushed by robots.txt: Sen. Hassan is on the warpath.
Richi Jennings
Google not required to sell Chrome or Android, judge rules in antitrust case - live updates
But the company has been ordered to share data with others to help open up competition.
BBC News
FTC Sues Gym Chains for Making It Hard to Cancel Memberships
Just print this form and bring it to the gym when you should be at work.
Matt Novak
July
Germany supports EU-wide ban on dark patterns, addictive design - Euractiv
The German government told Euractiv it would support the prohibitions being included in the upcoming EU-wide Digital Fairness Act legislation.
Anupriya Datta
Court nullifies “click-to-cancel” rule that required easy methods of cancellation
FTC failed to follow rulemaking process required by US law, judges rule.
Jon Brodkin
June
FTC is refunding nearly one million Fortnite players
The second round of payments follows complaints that Epic used deceptive design tactics to prompt accidental purchases
Emily Price
Shein accused of ‘shaming’ customers into buying more than they can afford
Consumer watchdogs accuse Chinese fashion firm of ‘dark’ practices in formal complaint to European Commission
Lisa O’Carroll
Deceptive design - Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
Website and mobile app design techniques that may influence individuals into giving away more of their personal information online
May
FTC Sends Refund Payments to Consumers Impacted by Epic Games’ Unlawful Billing Practices
The Federal Trade Commission is sending refunds totaling more than $72 million to consumers who were tricked by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite, into making unwanted purchases.
Stephanie T. Nguyen, Chief Technologist
Shoppers warned to not fall for star ratings after UBC research finds reviews can be misleading
Online shoppers might change the way they regard purchase reviews following new research from UBC that says the ratings could be misleading consumers.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby
95% of Aussies have been subject to dark patterns in video games
A new study analysing dark pattern in video games has discovered 95% of Australians who play games have encountered these tactics.
Leah J. Williams
April
Apple, Meta fined as EU presses ahead with tech probes
BRUSSELS :Apple was fined 500 million euros ($570 million) on Wednesday and Meta 200 million euros, as European Union antitrust regulators handed out the first sanctions under landmark legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.The EU fines could stoke tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump who has
CNA
FTC Takes Action Against Uber for Deceptive Billing and Cancellation Practices
The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit today against Uber, alleging the rideshare and delivery company charged consumers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent, failed to
Stephanie T. Nguyen, Chief Technologist
Airbnb now shows the full price of your stay by default
No more surprises at checkout.
Emma Roth
DOJ adds to Google’s antitrust trial the AI-driven search monopoly | Digital Watch Observatory
Prosecutors are calling for sweeping measures, including the sale of Chrome and a breakup of exclusive deals with device makers, including its Gemini app installed on Samsung devices, which reinforces its search monopoly.
Marko Markovic
Google guilty ruling in antitrust case could boost Canada’s lawsuit against tech giant
The U.S. government’s recent wins against Google stem from two of many cases ongoing against the tech giant. Here’s what could happen next.
Yvonne Lau
March
Q and A with the experts: How games trick you into playing – and paying | Waterloo News
Have you ever bought something in your game without knowing the cost in real currency? You may have encountered deceptive game design or specific user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) practices that trick players into doing things that mainly benefit the game’s developers and publishers. Hilda Hadan, a Ph.D. candidate in Systems Design Engineering supervised by UX
By
Commission and national authorities take action to protect children from harmful practices in video games
Coordinated by the European Commission, the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) has launched an enforcement action against Star Stable Entertainment AB to ensure a safer, more transparent experience for players of the Star Stable Online game.
These 53 popular apps across nine biggest industries are using deceptive patterns: Advertising Standards Council of India - The Times of India
TECH NEWS : A study by ASCI Academy and Parallel HQ revealed that 52 out of 53 popular Indian apps use deceptive design patterns. These dark patterns often manipu
TOI Tech Desk
February
Canadian privacy regulators double down on deceptive design patterns
Regulators urge businesses to curb manipulative online privacy practices
Using a Behavioural Risk Audit to identify harmful design features on gambling websites | BIT
We carried out research into gambling operator sites, to identify design features that may harm people by leveraging behavioural biases.
Aisling Ní Chonaire
The Dark Side of Quick Commerce: How 10-minute delivery apps are using deceptive design to manipulate shoppers
As popular as quick commerce apps have become, most of them are known to use common dark patterns to manipulate customers.
Sahana Venugopal & Poulomi Chatterjee
January
FTC, New York Attorney General Take Action Against Handy Technologies for Deceiving Workers About Potential Earnings
The Federal Trade Commission, along with the New York Attorney General, are taking action against gig economy company Handy Technologies
Stephanie T. Nguyen, Chief Technologist
How ‘Dark Patterns’ in Sports Betting Apps Keep Users Gambling
Mobile sports betting apps’ frictionless designs, personalized notifications and 24/7 availability have many gambling addiction experts worried
Allison Parshall