Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns

Thomas Eßmeyer; Johanna Gunawan; Colin M. Gray; Lorena Sánchez Chamorro; Alberto Monge Roffarello; Katie Seaborn; Hauke Sandhaus; Kai Lukoff; Gian Luca Savino; Shruthi Sai Chivukula; Satoshi Nakamura

doi:10.1145/3772363.3778758

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns

Thomas Eßmeyer^*
, Johanna Gunawan
, Colin M. Gray
, Lorena Sánchez Chamorro
, Alberto Monge Roffarello
, Katie Seaborn
, Hauke Sandhaus
, Kai Lukoff
, Gian Luca Savino
, Shruthi Sai Chivukula
, Satoshi Nakamura

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceeding › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Over the past decade, awareness of unethical design practices has risen within and outside the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Often referred to as deceptive design or dark patterns, associated practices coerce, obstruct, or manipulate user choices in various online contexts. As regulations aiming to protect users from especially malicious practices increase globally and customer-service relationships suffer, we identify a need to bring together practitioners with scholars in a transdisciplinary context to work together on sensible solutions that benefit both users and service providers. Our key aims are: (1) identifying gaps between user expectations and commercial incentives; (2) assessing contemporary design practices; and (3) rerouting user journeys to enable informed decision-making. Through roundtable discussions and collaborative activities, this workshop will foster the relationship between practitioners and scholars and help align ethical design principles with current practice, reflecting both user and service provider needs.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Editors	Nuria Oliver, David A. Shamma, Heloisa Candello, Pablo Cesar, Pedro Lopes, Valentino Artizzu, Fiona Draxler, Gustavo Lopez, Anke V. Reinschluessel, Xin Tong, Phoebe O. Toups Dugas
Place of Publication	New York
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery
Pages	1-8
ISBN (Electronic)	9798400722813
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3778758
Publication status	Published - 13 Apr 2026
Event	The 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2026 - Barcelona, Spain Duration: 13 Apr 2026 → 17 Apr 2026 https://chi2026.acm.org/

Conference

Conference	The 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2026
Abbreviated title	CHI 2026
Country/Territory	Spain
City	Barcelona
Period	13/04/26 → 17/04/26
Internet address	https://chi2026.acm.org/

Keywords

dark patterns
deceptive design
design ethics
manipulative user interfaces
responsible design

Access to Document

10.1145/3772363.3778758

Cite this

Eßmeyer, T., Gunawan, J., Gray, C. M., Sánchez Chamorro, L., Monge Roffarello, A., Seaborn, K., Sandhaus, H., Lukoff, K., Savino, G. L., Chivukula, S. S., & Nakamura, S. (2026). Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns. In N. Oliver, D. A. Shamma, H. Candello, P. Cesar, P. Lopes, V. Artizzu, F. Draxler, G. Lopez, A. V. Reinschluessel, X. Tong, & P. O. Toups Dugas (Eds.), Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-8). Article 926 Association for Computing Machinery. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3778758

Eßmeyer, Thomas ; Gunawan, Johanna ; Gray, Colin M. et al. / Bridge Over Troubled Water : Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns. Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. editor / Nuria Oliver ; David A. Shamma ; Heloisa Candello ; Pablo Cesar ; Pedro Lopes ; Valentino Artizzu ; Fiona Draxler ; Gustavo Lopez ; Anke V. Reinschluessel ; Xin Tong ; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas. New York : Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. pp. 1-8

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abstract = "Over the past decade, awareness of unethical design practices has risen within and outside the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Often referred to as deceptive design or dark patterns, associated practices coerce, obstruct, or manipulate user choices in various online contexts. As regulations aiming to protect users from especially malicious practices increase globally and customer-service relationships suffer, we identify a need to bring together practitioners with scholars in a transdisciplinary context to work together on sensible solutions that benefit both users and service providers. Our key aims are: (1) identifying gaps between user expectations and commercial incentives; (2) assessing contemporary design practices; and (3) rerouting user journeys to enable informed decision-making. Through roundtable discussions and collaborative activities, this workshop will foster the relationship between practitioners and scholars and help align ethical design principles with current practice, reflecting both user and service provider needs.",

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booktitle = "Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems",

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Eßmeyer, T, Gunawan, J, Gray, CM, Sánchez Chamorro, L, Monge Roffarello, A, Seaborn, K, Sandhaus, H, Lukoff, K, Savino, GL, Chivukula, SS & Nakamura, S 2026, Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns. in N Oliver, DA Shamma, H Candello, P Cesar, P Lopes, V Artizzu, F Draxler, G Lopez, AV Reinschluessel, X Tong & PO Toups Dugas (eds), Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems., 926, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, pp. 1-8, The 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, CHI 2026, Barcelona, Spain, 13/04/26. https://doi.org/10.1145/3772363.3778758

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns. / Eßmeyer, Thomas; Gunawan, Johanna; Gray, Colin M. et al.
Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. ed. / Nuria Oliver; David A. Shamma; Heloisa Candello; Pablo Cesar; Pedro Lopes; Valentino Artizzu; Fiona Draxler; Gustavo Lopez; Anke V. Reinschluessel; Xin Tong; Phoebe O. Toups Dugas. New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 2026. p. 1-8 926.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference article in proceeding › Academic › peer-review

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AU - Sánchez Chamorro, Lorena

AU - Monge Roffarello, Alberto

AU - Seaborn, Katie

AU - Sandhaus, Hauke

AU - Lukoff, Kai

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AU - Chivukula, Shruthi Sai

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AB - Over the past decade, awareness of unethical design practices has risen within and outside the field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Often referred to as deceptive design or dark patterns, associated practices coerce, obstruct, or manipulate user choices in various online contexts. As regulations aiming to protect users from especially malicious practices increase globally and customer-service relationships suffer, we identify a need to bring together practitioners with scholars in a transdisciplinary context to work together on sensible solutions that benefit both users and service providers. Our key aims are: (1) identifying gaps between user expectations and commercial incentives; (2) assessing contemporary design practices; and (3) rerouting user journeys to enable informed decision-making. Through roundtable discussions and collaborative activities, this workshop will foster the relationship between practitioners and scholars and help align ethical design principles with current practice, reflecting both user and service provider needs.

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KW - deceptive design

KW - design ethics

KW - manipulative user interfaces

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M3 - Conference article in proceeding

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BT - Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems

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A2 - Shamma, David A.

A2 - Candello, Heloisa

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Eßmeyer T, Gunawan J, Gray CM, Sánchez Chamorro L, Monge Roffarello A, Seaborn K et al. Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns. In Oliver N, Shamma DA, Candello H, Cesar P, Lopes P, Artizzu V, Draxler F, Lopez G, Reinschluessel AV, Tong X, Toups Dugas PO, editors, Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2026 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. New York: Association for Computing Machinery. 2026. p. 1-8. 926 doi: 10.1145/3772363.3778758

Bridge Over Troubled Water: Aligning Commercial Incentives With Ethical Design Practice To Combat Deceptive Patterns

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Conference

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