Access Over Deception: Fighting Deceptive Patterns through Accessibility
This addresses the problem of manipulative UI designs affecting vulnerable users, offering an incremental tool for inclusive design.
The study investigated whether Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and related laws could combat deceptive user interface patterns, identifying three patterns—Countdown Timer, Auto-Play, and Hidden Information—that violate these guidelines.
Deceptive patterns, dark patterns, and manipulative user interfaces (UI) are a widely used design strategy that manipulates users to act against their own interests in pursuit of shareholder aims. These patterns may particularly affect people with less education, visual impairments, and older adults. Yet, access is a critical feature of the user experience (UX), development standards, and law. We considered whether and how the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and related legislation, like the European Accessibility Act (EAA), could act as a tool against deceptive patterns. We used heuristic evaluation to analyze whether and how deceptive patterns violate or conform to these guidelines and legal statutes. Although statistical analysis revealed no significant differences by pattern type, we identified three patterns implicated by the WCAG guidelines: Countdown Timer, Auto-Play, and Hidden Information. We offer this approach as one tool in the fight against UI-based deception and in support of inclusive design.