ODPA or The Bailiwick of Guernsey’s Office Of The Data Protection Authority says it has detected dark patterns in apps and sites. It belongs to the islands’ gambling sector. Earlier this year, it made the conclusion following a privacy sweep.
The ODPA examined the apps and sites of 19 gambling companies. These companies operate under gambling licenses from the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. The sweep found that every website raised flags for transparency issues. Additionally, each site showed at least one indicator of deceptive design patterns. Authorities from around the world conducted this.
In 42 percent of cases, they could not find the app’s privacy settings on the website. This prevents users from being able to control their data on alter settings to be more privacy-friendly. Most sites had a privacy policy or data processing notice. However, they often found these settings to be unnecessarily long or complex. The ODPA also noted that deleting an account was usually more difficult than creating one.
According to the office, it has contacted the gambling operators involved to raise its concerns.
Brent Homan, the commissioner, said that dark patterns involve techniques that drive people down the least privacy-friendly route. These techniques lead users to give up more information than they may intend. They also thwart attempts to delete data.
Their sweep of the Bailiwick’s gambling sector raised such concerns. They are reaching out to organizations in the gambling industry and look forward to hearing from them, with the steps they are taking to address their concerns.
The Alderney Gambling Control Commission reported in May that it gave £2.35 million of profit in 2023 to the Channel Island jurisdiction. Compared in 2022, the profit was £636,000 higher. The commission has regulated the island’s gambling sector since 2000. It cited a strong rebound by the online gambling sector worldwide after the Covid-19 pandemic.
