Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
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Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
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Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#2"Quite simply, businesses who don’t comply face a loss of revenue. If you make a purchase, whether that’s buying goods or a service, on a non-compliant web site, you have the right to recourse through your nearest Trading Standards office. A failure to comply cancels the transaction. You can get your money back and keep the goods. If the sale was for a service or a digital download, the contract is cancelled and no further payments are due."
... has anyone successfully tried this in practice yet ? It would be good to know of "test cases" on sites potentially in breach. You can bet if complaints are upheld those sites will suddenly experience overwhelming interest from consumers :)
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#3Sounds like an excellent law to stop the horrid practices in so many online shops. Let's hope a form of this law spreads throughout Europe and the U.S.
This caught my eye, however:
"A failure to comply cancels the transaction. You can get your money back and keep the goods. If the sale was for a service or a digital download, the contract is cancelled and no further payments are due."
Wow. Seems like it would make a ton of financial sense to go hunting for online shops located in the U.K. that are not complying with this law yet and take advantage of this, helping them learn "the hard way"?
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#4I wonder what effect this will have on ryanair ticket prices? As I understand it the tickets themselves are not profitable, it's the extras.
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#5Sounds like an excellent law to stop the horrid practices in so many online shops. Let's hope a form of this law spreads throughout Europe and the U.S. This caught my eye, however: "A failure to comply cancels the transaction. You can get your money back and keep the goods. If the sale was for a service or a digital download, the contract is cancelled and no further payments are due." Wow. Seems like it would make a…
It is a good idea, but in practice getting them to return your money before you return the goods might involve a small claims court.
This directive actually has a lot less "teeth" than you'd think from reading this article. It is good that it exists, but aside from class action style lawsuits, few companies will get hit by individual customers seeking refunds+goods.
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#6The title says UK, but the article says it's for the entire EU.
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#7"A failure to comply cancels the transaction. You can get your money back and keep the goods. If the sale was for a service or a digital download, the contract is cancelled and no further payments are due."
I would think that, under contract law, you get your money back and you return the goods - that would be cancelling the transaction. Likewise for digital downloads or services.
Can anyone explain why the provider would be penalized further ?
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#8A good example of beneficial government regulation, for people who refuse to believe such a thing exists. (Another good example is the Internet itself, but it's best to start small)
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#9I wonder why there seem to be no companies that use "not being cheating bastards" as a marketing advantage. I'd gladly pay more to buy from a shop that emphasizes transparency and fairness.
Re: Some Dark Patterns Now Illegal in UK
#10I wonder what effect this will have on ryanair ticket prices? As I understand it the tickets themselves are not profitable, it's the extras.
Ryanair have been moving back towards clear pricing. I guess it will be more like flight £25 rather than flight 99p, charges £24.