Workshop : Dark Patterns and EU Consumer Law

Louvain-La-Neuve

10 mai 2023

17:00-18:30

Brussels

Université Saint-Louis, 43, Boulevard du Jardin Botanique (Room: P30)

DARK PATTERNS AND EU CONSUMER LAW
Prof. Mateja Durovic

Mateja Durovic will address the rising legal issue connected with the online choice architecture (OCA), dark patterns and consumer law. The OCA is the design of the online environment in which consumers interact with businesses. His research is aimed at exploring how digital design can influence consumers’ decisions and what should be the regulatory response of consumer law. When one speaks about the OCA, what immediately comes to mind are very present ‘dark patterns’ which represent digital design aimed to manipulate consumers free and informed choice by making them make certain decisions, which potentially result in consumer harm.

In today’s digital world, the designs of the digital markets are made in this way to enable traders much more control in their interactions with consumers as the online platforms can be personalised and optimised. For example, it seems that there is nothing easier than to subscribe to some digital service and nothing more difficult than to cancel that subscription. Likewise, while shopping online some option come out very easily while some other require much more efforts to
locate and opt for. The question is how can and how should consumer law help consumers with this kind of problems? In case of the European Union, a promising, but still ambiguous, Digital Services Act was recently adopted aimed at addressing exactly this kind of consumer issues. Additionally, new rules are to be adopted to regulate these challenges further.

Access

Room P30 is on the third floor of the ‘Prefecture' building. The easiest access route is from the car parc located Rue du Marais 119. From this entrance, walk across the car parc to the building on your left hand side and take the lift to the 3rd floor. The lift (or stairs) are next to room P02.

Registration