Explained | What are ‘dark patterns’ in the Internet

The story so far: Some Internet-based firms have been tricking users into agreeing to certain conditions or clicking a few links. Social media companies and Big Tech firms such as Apple, Amazon, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Google use dark or deceptive patterns to downgrade the user experience to their advantage. Dark patterns endanger the experience of Internet users and make them more vulnerable to financial and data exploitation by Big Tech firms. Dark patterns confuse users, introduce online obstacles, make simple tasks time-consuming, have users sign up for unwanted services/products, and force them to pay more money or share more personal information than they intended. The FTC report has warned that as augmented reality and virtual reality platforms and devices grow in usage, dark patterns will likely follow users to these new channels as well.