dark patterns

In the absence of a federal privacy law, advertisers can expect a steady stream of state privacy law announcements. Just fill in the blanks.

Any new regulations can potentially throw a wrench into your operations. Prepare for what’s to come with this breakdown of what these laws are and their effects on marketing strategy. 

Businesses should be asking themselves whether their data usage is fair beyond simply getting an opt-in, said Arielle Garcia, chief privacy officer of IPG-owned agency UM Worldwide, speaking at AdExchanger’s Industry Preview in New York City on Tuesday.

In 2022, top players in digital advertising finally started taking gaming seriously, and the groundwork was laid for programmatic in-game advertising to grow thanks to a long overdue update to the IAB’s and MRC’s in-game ad standards. The scene is also set for in-game advertising to expand into console gaming, and we might even see the debut of the first sell-side platform dedicated to gaming.

Once you start looking, dark patterns are everywhere – and the FTC is determined to do more about enforcing against these unfair and deceptive design practices. Also: Brands are using incrementality measurement to transform their marketing plans and boost performance.

Some business practices on the internet may not be against the law, but they undermine or manipulate consumer choice. Legal advocates have coined a new name for this practice: dark patterns. And dark patterns are next up on the enforcement docket both for the Federal Trade Commission and state-level data privacy laws.

A weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem…

The US data privacy landscape is chaotic. The future of the recently proposed American Data Privacy and Protection Act is now decidedly up in the air, and states are passing their own privacy laws in the absence of a federal one, which makes compliance complicated. Federal agencies like the FTC are also trying to fill the data privacy rulemaking void.

The European Parliament adopted the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in July. Although they were passed as one legislative package, they function as two distinct laws. But there is one common thread: Holding Big Tech providers more accountable for what happens on their platforms.

We’re about to see a lot more enforcement against dark patterns from the Federal Trade Commission and on a state level. Holding companies to account for using deceptive language that pushes people into sharing their data has largely fallen to the FTC, but now, US privacy laws are starting to mention dark patterns too.