I can predict the "Dark Patterns" right now. Giant Accept button and 6pt font opt-out link.
It's like bad drivers. If you have more and more people cutting cars exiting a freeway exit, people at the end will never make it off the freeway in a timely manner. Thus, people have to start being bad drivers themselves or else they will never get to their destination on time.
What is particularly tragic is that all it takes to get this rolling is the perception that others are doing something and people will move to follow.
Campaign attack adds, lying about diesel emissions, doctoring footage, falsifying compliance to environmental regulations and on and on.
The perception is becoming that if you obey the rules you are a fool and that is horrifically dangerous position.
Society by and large runs on a trust (but verify) model, I trust that when I walk down the street a random person isn't going to murder me but when that trust is eroded things go bad fast.
Scares the crap out of me and I'm not sure what we could do at this point, more genuine openness from government/authorities, properly funded government watchdogs with independent oversight that kind of thing but they are expensive and easy for either side to rally against "big government"/"the man".
This won't solve everything, but would be a nice start. There will always be scoundrels, but the current market dynamics seems to be pretty good at making manipulative and dishonest behaviour successful. We need to work on corrections that would promote honest businesses instead.
As a secondary avenue, I wish we could somehow have a cultural shift. "Dark patterns" isn't a new phenomenon; its very name has been a commonly-known term for years now. And yet, instead of avoiding them, most successful companies seem to look at them as sources of inspiration. Hell, they're becoming a part of "UX standard practice" these days.
Combined with asking you constantly if you say no and never asking again if you say yes.
I hate that shit and it creates a negative feeling for me towards whatever product is doing it, if I’m aware you are trying to trick me why would I trust you.
It must work (for some set of work) though or they wouldn’t do it.
Tired people, busy people, people who don't understand any of it. I too sometimes just click through consent forms without reading, 'cause ain't nobody has time for this crap, but I'm happy with the knowledge that GDPR makes this mostly safe (and in cases where it doesn't, at some point I'll start sending data access and removal requests just out of spite).
I'm not a legal professional, and my advice shouldn't be taken as rule. Please consult an attorney.
> “On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
> “That’s the display department.”
> “With a flashlight.”
> “Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
> “So had the stairs.”
> “But look, you found the TOS and EULA, didn’t you?”
> “Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”
Apparently it's opt-in.