Dark Patterns: Psychological Traps of the Digital World

Signing a subscription contract without realizing it when you click the “Try Free” button, adding a few additional products next to a product you added to the cart, complex interfaces that hide cancel buttons… All of this are the most common examples of manipulative designs, known in the internet world as “dark patterns”.

These “dark patterns” take advantage of users’ quick thinking and decision-making habits and cause many people to unconsciously take undesirable steps. Although institutions in the European Union and the United States have taken steps in this regard, legal gaps still remain. Although in Turkey regulations such as the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation, the Consumer Protection Law, the Electronic Commerce Regulation Law and the Personal Data Protection Law provide partial protection, there is a detailed legal text that directly targets the fight “Dark pattern” is not yet in effect.

What exactly do these traps mean and how common do they occur in our daily lives? Answering our questions, IT lawyer Nazlı Turhan explains dark patterns, which she defines as “no-rules” language in the Internet world, as “designs that aim to achieve benefit by manipulating the user's level of consciousness.”

Manipulating interfaces: In whose interest is the “mask” really?

Nazlı Turhan said: “Dark Patterns, which can be translated into Turkish as dark patterns or dark patterns, is essentially the irregular language of the Internet, designed to benefit users.” “Users' will areas are influenced by content designs, which probably serve the interests of the user,” he says.

Turhan explains that the main purpose of designs (interfaces) that interact with the user on digital platforms is to make people's work easier. On the other hand, this ideal is not always respected in today's practice: “Although this mask, the “What we call interface, seems to be user-friendly in theory, in practice it often leads to the disadvantage of the user.” This becomes attitude. “When marketing concerns are in the foreground, ergonomics or comfort remain in the background.”

Turhan points out that in the past, mechanical devices were limited to simple buttons and pedals, and in the digital age, much more complex – and susceptible to tampering – systems have emerged thanks to codes running in the background: “The era in which machines consisted of on-off… Groping is over. Now the mark you touch on a single chart can produce dozens of different negative or positive results.”

“It appears in almost every shopping experience”

Turhan explains that dark patterns can be found almost everywhere, from online shopping sites to social media platforms, and that they come in different forms. Some of the most common examples can be summarized as follows:

Pop-ups that suddenly appear on the screen: As soon as you start visiting the website, a huge window appears and offers an option that is difficult to close immediately. With a coupon, discount, or membership offer, you are being asked to make a hasty decision.

Misdirection: When you click the “Try Free” button, you actually unintentionally agree to the subscription agreement.

Hidden data breaches (privacy sugaring): The platform requests your personal information for a “better experience,” but uses that information for other purposes, such as ad targeting.

Hidden costs: Additional fees that do not initially appear will appear closer to payment. Items like baggage fees and seat selection are added to airline tickets at the last minute.

Sneak into the basket: When you add a product to your shopping cart, additional products are unknowingly added to the shopping cart.

Tricky questions: A question that should be a simple yes/no is presented in such a complex way that the user may inadvertently select the “wrong” option.

Validated, shamefulNote: If you don't want to subscribe to the email newsletter, you'll be faced with embarrassing options like “I don't care about staying up to date.”

Forced continuity: When the free trial period ends, your membership will be automatically charged. To cancel you need to complete many additional steps.

Lawyer Nazlı Turhan said: “It can be said that these examples are actually their simplest forms. “Often, users are unintentionally drawn into a subscription or payment because they can't find a single tick or don't notice that the buttons are hidden in muted colors,” he says.

Ethical discussions: “Exploiting the user’s weaknesses”

Dark patterns are in the spotlight not only because of their legal limitations, but also because of their ethical dimensions. Turhan reminds that people are exposed to cognitive biases like “scarcity” or “social proof” without realizing it:

“Dark patterns exploit the shortcuts the human mind uses to make quick decisions. “This highlights the tension between ethical design and the pursuit of commercial gain.” He adds that jeopardizing the user’s informed consent would also be a breach of fundamental consumer rights.

“Anyone who is a victim can take legal action”

So what can a user do when faced with such a trap? According to Turhan, it is important to first raise awareness of the issue: “Anyone who believes they are a victim of the dark pattern should document the relevant platform and, if possible, complain with screenshots.”

Turhan points out that although there is no law in Turkey that directly targets the concept of dark patterns, existing regulations provide partial protection on the subject, pointing out that laws such as the Commercial Advertising Regulation and unfair business practices, the Consumer Protection Act and KVKK can be filed for violations.

What precautions are being taken worldwide?

Lawyer Nazlı Turhan reminds us that the “Consumer Fraud Laws” in force in various states in the USA prohibit misleading advertising or false statements. Texts like the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act also pave the way for users exposed to unfair practices to file private lawsuits. In Europe, various regulations such as the GDPR, the e-Privacy Directive and the Consumer Protection Regulation against Unfair Trading provide protection against dark pattern-like manipulation. Turhan says: “Although these laws aim to protect general consumer rights and data protection, they need to be strengthened with additional regulations and awareness measures specific to dark patterns.”

Citing some notable examples from around the world, Turhan points out that TikTok was recently fined €345 million by the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) for directing child users to settings that “violated privacy.” He states that a lawsuit has been filed against The New York Times for “failing to clearly explain the terms of automatic subscription renewal.”

Although there is not yet a direct penalty for dark patterns in Turkey, KVKK is known to raise a serious warning signal with the administrative penalties it imposes on issues such as “cookies”. Turhan comments: “As complaints about manipulative interfaces increase in the future, I think courts and institutions will begin to define and sanction dark patterns more concretely.”

Lawyer Nazlı Turhan emphasizes that the fight against dark patterns should not be limited to legal regulations and points out the importance of users improving their digital skills: “Public spots, training, transparent labeling… When users recognize which Tricks they are exposed to, the platforms that use these designs quickly gain prestige and suffer a loss of trust. “Conscious response is one of the most powerful weapons in the fight against these dark patterns.”