Misleading interfaces: An Obstacle to Informed Consent
At En Clair, we believe it is possible to live in a simpler world that fosters everyone’s competence and autonomy. This is a way to achieve a more equal and respectful society. To eliminate complexity along the way, we simplify legal documents and processes of all kinds on a daily basis, whether they exist on paper or within digital ecosystems.
In the age of online consumption, it is therefore essential that organizations rethink their platforms to ensure an optimal user experience, free of any misleading interfaces.
Misleading Interfaces: A Design Choice That Takes Many Forms
A misleading interface is, first and foremost, a design decision.
Misleading user interfaces, often referred to as “dark patterns” or “deceptive patterns” in English, take many forms.
But first and foremost, it’s a design choice made by an organization, which has the effect of manipulating users into acting against their own interests—and generally for the benefit of that company. These designs are specifically crafted to deceive us by exploiting our cognitive biases. We all have them, after all—it’s part of being human 😊!
For his part, Jakob Nielsen, a Ph.D. candidate in human-computer interaction and an expert in computer ergonomics and website usability, describes them in this article as “ways to mislead users through a variety of deceptive interfaces—or sometimes simply by making it unnecessarily difficult for users to perform actions they want to do but that a company wants to prevent, such as canceling a subscription.”
These design techniques pose a significant problem because they directly undermine users’ autonomy and their ability to give consent or act in a simple and informed manner.
They can take many forms, such as:
Placing greater emphasis on certain choices, such as making an “I Agree” button easier to find than a “Decline” button (we’re thinking here of the consent to the use of personal information that we encounter everywhere online);
Make it significantly more difficult to cancel a service or contract than it is to sign up for the service;
Make it difficult to go back in the purchasing process;
Set default settings that are very difficult to change—for example, by overwhelming users with so many options that they no longer know how to express their preferences.
The use of artificial intelligence can also help make dark patterns even more effective by refining manipulation tactics through predictive analytics. For example, it can be used to personalize interfaces by leveraging various types of collected data, such as browsing history and social media activity. It also makes it possible to generate fake reviews or testimonials that are highly convincing and difficult to detect.
Our Behavior Is Influenced by Design
In 2023, France’s National Commission on Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL) examined the different types of “cookie” banners (the familiar pop-up windows that ask for our consent when we visit a website for the first time) and how users respond to them. In this study of 4,000 adults, the CNIL clearly highlights the impact of interface design on user behavior.
The results are indeed striking: Internet users who were exposed to more transparent, thought-provoking interfaces were three times more likely to refuse to share their data or to prefer to customize their consent.
Poor design is not inevitable
Some companies are now becoming more aware of best practices. The teams that develop these interfaces—UX/UI designers, product managers, and legal professionals—are increasingly working hand in hand.
We work directly with a large number of public and private organizations on data privacy and interface design to ensure optimal design that facilitates informed consent. These organizations have chosen to take concrete steps to design their online interfaces with a focus on greater transparency, inclusivity, and usability, so that their services are accessible to as many people as possible.
I gave an interview on this topic in recent months:
"Adark pattern is, first and foremost, a design choice—it’s a design decision. "
In this article from La Presse, I propose solutions to combatdark patternsand highlight the importance of effective regulation to protect consumers.
