February 12, 2025
Japan Fair Trade Commission
The 23rd CPRC International Symposium
Today, I would like to introduce the 23rd CPRC International Symposium, which will be held by the Competition Policy Research Center on Friday, March 14, in Tokyo.
The theme of this symposium is “Dark Patterns: the role of competition policy on deceptive web designs.” First, what exactly are “dark patterns”? While there is no universally accepted definition, the OECD’s 2022 report describes dark patterns as “steer, deceive, coerce, or manipulate consumers into making choices that often are not in their best interests.”
Various practices fall under the category of “dark patterns.” Examples include:
● Forcing consumers to register as members before they can browse or purchase products.
● Making important information difficult to see or access.
● Making it easy to sign up for a service but deliberately making cancellation difficult, thereby hindering consumers’ ability to make free choices.
These deceptive design practices are commonly referred to as “dark patterns.”
These acts of dark patterns not only disadvantage consumers and other users, but there are also concerns that they may harm fair and free competition between businesses that use dark patterns and those that do not use such means. It is necessary to consider how to address the issue of dark patterns from the perspective of Antimonopoly Act and competition policy.
At this symposium, we will welcome Dr. Harry Brignull, the proponent of the “dark patterns” concept, along with experts in U.S. competition law and Japanese consumer policy. These distinguished speakers will deliver presentations on the current situation of dark patterns, regulatory trends and future issues in Japan and abroad. Additionally, a panel discussion will be held to explore possible approaches to addressing dark patterns from a competition policy perspective.
This symposium is co-organized by Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Fair Trade Institute, with the support of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).
Registration is now open as of today. Details on the venue, speakers, and presentation topics are available on our website. Online participation is also available, so we encourage you to join us.
Registration can be completed through the link below.
https://www.jftc.go.jp/en/cprc/events/symposium/20250314.html
（Tentative translation）
These deceptive design practices are commonly referred to as “dark patterns.”
These acts of dark patterns not only disadvantage consumers and other users, but there are also concerns that they may harm fair and free competition between businesses that use dark patterns and those that do not use such means. It is necessary to consider how to address the issue of dark patterns from the perspective of Antimonopoly Act and competition policy.
At this symposium, we will welcome Dr. Harry Brignull, the proponent of the “dark patterns” concept, along with experts in U.S. competition law and Japanese consumer policy. These distinguished speakers will deliver presentations on the current situation of dark patterns, regulatory trends and future issues in Japan and abroad. Additionally, a panel discussion will be held to explore possible approaches to addressing dark patterns from a competition policy perspective.
This symposium is co-organized by Nihon Keizai Shimbun and the Fair Trade Institute, with the support of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren).
Registration is now open as of today. Details on the venue, speakers, and presentation topics are available on our website. Online participation is also available, so we encourage you to join us.
Registration can be completed through the link below.
https://www.jftc.go.jp/en/cprc/events/symposium/20250314.html
（Tentative translation）
