Tech Companies Misleading Users Privacy

Microsoft, Google and Facebook use intrusive default settings and misleading wording to push users away from privacy-friendly options, a report claims

19:23 28 June 2018

A report released by the Norwegian Consumer Council has claimed that Microsoft, Google and Facebook are using unethical methods to push users away from privacy-friendly options.

 

The report, which studied the privacy of the firms, found a series of “dark patterns”, including intrusive default settings and misleading wording, which give users “an illusion of control.”

 

The report, Deceived by Design, was based on user tests that took place in April and May, when all three firms were in the process of updating their privacy policy in an effort to comply with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The report found examples of take-it-or-leave it choices, privacy-friendly choices being hidden away, privacy-intrusive defaults with a longer process for users who want privacy-friendly options, no option to postpone decisions, and some privacy settings being obscured.

 

Giving an example, the report notes: "Facebook gives the user an impression of control over use of third party data to show ads, while it turns out that the control is much more limited than it initially appears,"

 

"And Google's privacy dashboard promises to let the user easily delete data, but the dashboard turns out to be difficult to navigate, more resembling a maze than a tool for user control," it added.