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How “customer obsession” could land you in legal trouble
- Customer obsession, a common practice in product organizations, involves linking decisions to user research and feedback to build products tailored to market preferences.
- However, customer obsession can create power imbalances, allowing companies to use behavioral data to manipulate user decisions through dark patterns, as seen in tactics like misleading UI designs.
- An example of this is highlighted at McDonald's, where meal pricing remains the same regardless of the drink size chosen, leading to consumer irritation and exploitation of customer vulnerability.
- Such exploitative UX practices raise legal questions, with consumer protection laws struggling to keep pace with the complexities of online retail and dark patterned UX.
- Entities like the FTC have started scrutinizing digital designs for unfair or deceptive practices, leading to legal actions against companies like Fashion Nova and H&R Block for misleading consumers.
- Consumers are seeking recourse through false advertising law, as evidenced by cases like Target facing a $5 million settlement for artificially low pricing tactics.
- Proposed legislation, such as the DETOUR Act introduced by Senator Mark Warner, aims to address manipulative user interfaces that impair user decision-making and autonomy, potentially impacting digital design practices.
- The legal landscape is evolving to address exploitative practices in customer obsession, emphasizing the need for a more ethical and legally compliant approach in product organizations.
- As legal frameworks adapt to address dark patterns in customer obsession, companies are urged to reevaluate their practices to align with evolving consumer protection laws and standards.
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