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The Publishers Clearing House offices in Jericho, New York on January 30, 2019.
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How ‘dark patterns’ can trap consumers
Sara Adair shows off the oversized $1 million check her husband Mark received on April 1, 2022 from the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol in South Boston, Massachusetts.
Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
The FTC also sued Amazon last week for allegedly using “dark patterns” to ensnare people into recurring subscriptions to its Prime service without permission.
Dark patterns are a “manipulative” and illegal design trick, examples of which include pre-checked boxes, hard-to-find and read disclosures and confusing cancellation policies, the FTC said. They pose “increased risks” to consumers online, it added.
“This is our second dark pattern lawsuit in the past week,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a written statement about the PCH lawsuit. “Companies that continue to use deceptive design techniques will be warned.”
In the PCH case, the FTC alleged that the company used “manipulative wording and website design” to convince consumers to buy some product to enter the company’s contests or to increase their chances of winning.
When it contained disclaimers or clarifying information, the text was in a small, light font and was overlooked by consumers, the FTC claimed.
In addition to sweepstakes, PCH also sells merchandise and magazines. The FTC alleged that the company charged hidden fees that averaged more than 40% of the product cost, and misled customers with deceptive language in email subject lines and privacy policy statements.
PCH agreed to settle the charges, which alleged that it had violated the FTC law and the CAN-SPAM law. The company will pay $18.5 million to the FTC, which will reimburse affected consumers. The company must also stop using deceptive language around sweepstakes and sales, and stop using surprise fees, among other changes to its business practices.
More generally, consumers may not realize they are being manipulated or misled by shady patterns because they are “stealth or otherwise deceptive,” according to the FTC. There are plenty of examples, but some of the common ones consumers may encounter online are fake customer recommendations (e.g. the endorser is paid), fake low stock messages (e.g. only one item left in stock), and a fake countdown clock (which pressures consumers to buy immediately, but resets after timeout).
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