정보비대칭을 악용하는 다크패턴의 규제와 소비자 보호

Abstract

Along with the advent of data era, large platforms easily gather and accumulate people’s data in quantity, making them able to make decisions on behalf of each individual. One side effect of this phenomenon is dark pattern, which refers to trick plan or trick design that leads customers to make unintended choices and buying decisions. In order to regulate dark pattern that deceive consumers, the Fair Trade Commission recently announced measures against dark patterns, and several amendments to the E-Commerce Act have been proposed at the National Assembly to regulate dark patterns. However, some point out that inducing customers to choose the product is the essential attribute of business, and that dark patterns can be sufficiently regulated under current legal system and therefore should be carefully approached due to concern of redundant regulations. This study examined measures of overseas considering dark patterns and analyzed whether there were any problems with the dark pattern policies currently being pursued in Korea. In the United States, a separate legal system has not yet been established to regulate dark patterns at the federal level, and the Federal Trade Commission(FTC) generally regulates them under the FTC law. On the other hand, there are some states that specifically regulate dark patterns on the state level, such as the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Meanwhile, the EU has recently explicitly regulated the use of dark patterns on online platforms under the Digital Services Act (DSA). However, it should be noted that the UK and California strictly prohibit the usage of dark pattern toward teenagers, especially the provision of personal data. These regulations seem to be intended to prevent attempts to use dark pattern and dominate customers’ preferences, especially those of the growing adolescents. Meanwhile, the fact that current domestic countermeasures are approaching this situation simply in terms of regulation toward the business itself is regrettable. In the future, when the Fair Trade Commision prepares policies such as guidelines regulating dark pattern, such data processing should be included as the subject of dark pattern regulation.