Dark Patterns share one or more end-goals – for example getting consumers to purchase, purchase more of, or continue to purchase, a good or service that they would otherwise not purchase or purchase in lesser quantity; to spend more money on a purchase or time on a service than desired; or to give up more personal data than desired – with the ultimate purpose of increasing business revenue. There are many instances of Dark Pattern executions which are unrelated to advertisements such as users being guilted into opting for something which they would otherwise not have, or, when consumers purchase something, additional products are added into the basket of the consumer, without their knowledge - like donations to relief funds, etc. However as ASCI’s remit is limited to self-regulation of Advertising content these guidelines cover only advertising in digital media including e-commerce, airline, food delivery etc. apps and websites.
Chapter 1 of the ACSI code requires ads to be honest, and not abuse the trust or lack of expertise of the consumer. The code requires ads to not mislead by omission, exaggeration, implication or ambiguity. To ensure that advertisements do not breach Chapter 1, the following guidelines are to be applied to digital advertising.