Online Choice Architecture: How digital design can harm competition and consumers

Online choice architecture (OCA) describes the environment in which people act, including the presentation and placement of choices and the design of interfaces.

Published by UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) the discussion paper titled Online Choice Architecture: how digital design can harm competition and consumers provides an overview of OCA and its links with related concepts like ‘dark patterns’, the types of OCA practice that are prevalent, a taxonomy for OCA practices, and potential harms for consumers. The paper is illustrated by case studies of investigations conducted by CMA and others.