After being contacted by the Office of the Data Protection Authority (“ODPA”), companies in Alderney’s gambling sector are set to address concerns about deceptive design patterns also known as ‘Dark Patterns’.
It follows the results from the OPDA’s participation in the annual Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) ‘Global Privacy Sweep’ earlier this year.
The Sweep, carried out alongside 52 data protection and consumer authorities from around the world, examined over a thousand websites and apps for ‘Dark Patterns’. Here in the Bailiwick, the ODPA focused on the gambling sector, reviewing 19 online gaming sites and finding indicators of deceptive designs in all sites swept.
Dark patterns involve techniques that drive people down the least privacy-friendly route, leading users to give up more information than they intend or thwarting attempts to delete data.
The key concerns identified locally were:
- In 42% of cases, the sweeper was unable to find the website or app’s privacy settings. The absence of privacy settings, or difficulty in locating them, prevents users from being in control of their data.
- While most sites had a privacy policy or data processing notice, they were generally found to be unnecessarily lengthy and/or complex. The Bailiwick’s Law requires that information is provided to individuals in a format that they can understand. Lengthy documents and complex wording hinder comprehension.
- In many cases, it was more difficult to delete an account than it was to create one. In some cases, this meant users had to escalate a request to exercise their right to erasure and/or to provide more information than had been required to set an account up.
Following publication of the sweep results, the ODPA reached out to all operators of the sites with its concerns, inviting them to improve their data protection practice.
An impressive 78% of those companies contacted made commitments to address the ODPA’s concerns and improve their practices.
“We applaud the companies’ willingness to address the dark patterns concerns raised in our sweep of the gambling sector”, said Data Protection Commissioner Brent Homan. “Their collective efforts will lead to a greater respect for customers’ privacy and consumer rights that will resonate across the globe.”
During the sweep the ODPA has worked closely with the Alderney Gambling Control Commission (AGCC) which regulates gambling licenses in the Bailiwick. The ODPA has shared the outcome of their industry engagement with them.
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