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Abstract

Regulations mandating consumer consent for data collection and use have prompted firms to employ “dark patterns”—interface designs that encourage users toward data sharing. We study the causal effects of these designs on consumer consent decisions and their implications for consumer welfare. To this end, we conduct a field experiment where a browser extension randomizes consent interfaces during participants’ natural internet browsing. We find that consumers accept all cookies over half of the time absent dark patterns. Requiring additional clicks to access certain options significantly shifts choices away from the hidden options, while purely visual manipulations have modest impacts. Although well-known firms secure higher baseline consent rates, dark patterns do not disproportionately benefit these companies. Our structural estimates show that the consumer surplus-maximizing banner increases surplus by 13% relative to the US status quo. However, a browser-level global consent option provides greater benefits: It increases consumer surplus by at least 73% compared to site-by-site consent even with optimal interfaces, primarily by reducing time costs.

Citation

Farronato, Chiara, Andrey Fradkin, and Tesary Lin. “Data Sharing and Website Competition: The Role of Dark Patterns.” (2024).

@article{farronato2024data,
  title={Data Sharing and Website Competition: The Role of Dark Patterns},
  author={Farronato, Chiara and Fradkin, Andrey and Lin, Tesary},
  year={2024},
  journal={Working Paper}
}
Funding
  • Internet Services Grant