This book provides essential insights on dark patterns and AI-powered deceptive design for anyone who wants to understand and challenge the pervasive influence of these hidden forces shaping our digital experiences. These hidden design strategies-from personalised user interface triggers to sophisticated backend systems-are often used to manipulate user behaviour in ways that benefit businesses at the expense of users. With advanced profiling driven by AI, these deceptive techniques can tailor digital environments to each user, raising significant questions about privacy, control, and the boundaries of digital design. The book examines the response of regulators, from the GDPR, Digital Services Act, and AI Act in the EU to emerging frameworks in the USA, Brazil, and India. Through real-world examples, it explains how these laws fail to address deceptive design practices and explores the implications for privacy, autonomy, and consumer protection in the digital age. By uncovering the complex layers of modern deceptive design, the book equips readers with the knowledge to recognise these tactics and consider their impact on user choice and trust. It is essential reading for legal professionals, digital rights advocates, designers, and anyone invested in fair digital practices.

Autorentext
Mark Leiser, formerly of Vrije Universiteit-Amsterdam and Leiden University, the Netherlands, is an expert specialising in digital, legal, and platform regulation. In addition to consultancy work, he helps run the deceptive.design website (formerly darkpatterns.org).

Inhalt

Preface

Part I: Dark, Darker, and Darkest Patterns

1. A Frightening Future Awaits, Unless...
2. Deceptive Techniques and their Associated Harms
3. Regulatory Responses to Dark Patterns and Deceptive Design
4. Emerging Digital Design Laws and Regulations

Part II: Manipulation Beneath the Interface
5. System Architecture Patterns and the Personalisation of Exploitation
6. AI-Powered Deceptive Design
7. The Illusion of Control: Who is Truly Vulnerable?

Part III: The Fight Against Dark Patterns and Deceptive Design
8. Toward a Future Free of Manipulation
Afterword: Reflections on the Ride