Data Brokers’ and AI Firms’ Opt-Out Forms Are Built to Fail, Report Finds
Some of the largest data-collecting companies in the United States—including major AI vendors, data brokers, defense contractors, and dating apps—rely on deceptive methods to keep consumers from opting out of the sale and sharing of their personal information, according to a new study from the digital rights nonprofit Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Researchers at EPIC audited the opt-out processes of 38 major data companies and documented at least eight distinct categories of manipulative design: Opt-out forms that don't actually let users opt out of the sale of their data. Links that are buried in fine print and missing from homepages. Consumers routed through multiple separate forms to complete a single request. And requirements that users create accounts or pay for subscriptions before opting out at all, among others.
“Manipulative design has no place in opt-out requests,” EPIC says. “Companies must design opt-out processes with respect toward...
Copyright of this story solely belongs to wired.com. To see the full text click HERE
