Deceptive and manipulative design features – known as dark patterns – are embedded into websites and apps to influence our choices, often not in our best interests. These subtle practices may appear as mild annoyances individually, but their cumulative effect is costing Australians financially, compromising privacy, and degrading online experiences. This report describes how organisations across seven countries are tackling these issues and what Australia can learn from their approaches.

Key findings

1. Wellbeing should be central to consumer protection.
2. Australia is falling behind and lacks economy-wide protections against unfair trading practices.
3. Solutions must be systemic.
4. Emerging technologies present new challenges.

Recommendations

• Introduce an economy-wide ban on unfair business practices that clearly captures dark patterns.
• Ensure regulators have direct enforcement powers, including requiring compensation and forcing businesses to delete data acquired through deceptive practices.
• Introduce supervisory fee models where large digital businesses contribute to regulatory oversight.
• Regulators should develop innovative enforcement strategies, including automated detection tools.
• Businesses should design online experiences with fairness in mind, not just financial outcomes.