NGI Forward Salon: Spotlight on Dark Patterns

Spotlight on Dark Patterns: What can the ePrivacy Regulation do?

Co-hosted by NGI FORWARD and the German Research Institute for Public Administration. Deutsches Forschungsinstitut für Öffentliche Verwaltung, FÖV “Dark Pattern Detection-Project (Dapde) funded by the German Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection, and the Next Generation Internet initiative (NGI) of the European Commission.

SCOPE

At least since the entry into force of the GDPR, Dark Patterns seem to be all over the internet. Companies use interface designs to lead users to take decisions contrary to their actual interests. Consent banners appear to have become more and more loaded with Dark Patterns.

How could EU Member States and European law be able to limit the use of Dark Patterns? The proposed ePrivacy Regulation, set to replace the old ePrivacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC) and adapt it to the evolution of electronic communications, could provide a chance for the European legislator to take a stricter stance on Dark Patterns. However, different from, for example the new California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) of 2020, none of the current proposals for the Trilogue specifically addresses Dark Patterns. Thus, the question arises whether the new ePrivacy Regulation can and should limit the use of Dark Patterns.

The talk will bring together perspectives from consumer protection organizations, industry representatives and academics. The format will be a moderated podium discussion followed by questions from the audience.
The goal of the event is to discuss the phenomenon of Dark Patterns and how best to address it, in particular through regulation.

Speakers

• Peter Eberl, Deputy Head of Unit Cybersecurity and Digital Privacy, EU Commission
  be.linkedin.com/in/peter-eberl-0a528a60
• Maryant Fernández, Senior Digital Policy Officer, The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC)
  www.linkedin.com/in/maryantfernandez
• Cristiana Santos, Assistant Professor, Utrecht University
  www.linkedin.com/in/cristianateixeirasantos
• Christian Drews, Research Fellow, Dapde
  www.linkedin.com/in/christian-drews

Moderation

Quirin Weinzierl, Project Coordinator, Dapde
www.linkedin.com/in/quirin-w-1a2756140

Organizers

Carsten Berger, Quirin Weinzierl and Anton Kamke (FÖV Speyer) with Rob Van Kranenburg