WASHINGTON  — There was general support from tech and public interest types at a Capitol Hill briefing Tuesday (June 25) on the DETOUR Act, which would give the Federal Trade Commission direction to go after deceptive and disingenuous "dark patterns." 

The draft bill, introduced by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) in  April, would prevent "large online platforms" from using so-called “dark patterns” to "trick consumers into handing over their personal data." 

Dark patterns are online interfaces designed to trick users into taking actions they might not ordinarily take. Examples include: 1) simple buttons that say "yes" to user data collection while the "no" button is tiny or hidden or several steps removed; 2) suggesting others are about to buy an item to try to close the sale; or 3) deliberately obscuring alternative choices or settings. Then there are the online game designs that lure kids into in-app purchases their parents have to either pay for or seek refunds.

Representatives from Consumer Reports, Common Sense Media and Mozilla all agreed the bill was a step in the right direction.  

Warner said it was a necessary step because Big Tech companies have grown from dorm-room operations to billion-dollar businesses. And though some firms, like Mozilla, were taking positive steps, Warner said platforms were not doing enough while Congress has been late to the issue and regulators asleep at the switch. 

Warner expressed confidence the bill could become part of broader federal privacy legislation.  

Shining a light on deceptive web design, and finding ways to prevent it, had to be part of the privacy fix, Fischer said. 

Among the other deceptive design issues are games and apps that try to get kids to make in-app purchases, including by making that a prerequisite of completing a game, or "confirmshaming," a type of dark pattern designed to "shame" a user into doing something. For example, in a game where a child helps bake a cake, players are told if they don't agree to buy extra in-app ingredients, the cake won't be as good. 

Amina Fazlullah, policy counsel for Common Sense, talked about the complaint filed against Facebook over in-app purchases. 

Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in January wrote Facebook "demanding" information about what they said was evidence that the company knowingly manipulated children into spending their parents‘ money on in-app purchases during gaming. 

"Recent findings uncovered by The Center for Investigative Reporting show that Facebook personnel had direct knowledge that children were spending large sums of their parents’ money on in-app purchases without parental knowledge or permission," they said at that time. "Specific design features and default settings fostered this practice. In addition, reports suggest that when Facebook became aware of this phenomenon and identified a solution, the company declined to implement the fix, and even designed a mechanism to automatically dispute its users’ requests for refunds." 

Warner said that it was his role in investigating Russian election interference, as vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, that opened his eyes to the fact that social media companies bore some of the responsibility for how their platforms had been misused.  

"And now that this ’dark underbelly‘ of social media has been exposed, I believe both the companies and the Congress have a role to play in making sure that Americans and their private data are not misused or manipulated going forward," he added. 

Fisher said the DETOUR Act would provide for more accountability and give users a tool to get out of the "I agree" maze. She said companies asserting their users have choice and control now are beating on a hollow publicity campaign, while the dark patterns show a very different reality. 

"Consent must include fair and transparency options from user interfaces," she said. 

The bipartisan congressional Internet of Things working group comprising Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has reintroduced the Developing and Growing the Internet of Things (DIGIT) Act.

The bill was introduced in the last Congress, following up on a resolution that passed the Senate last March that called for a national strategy on IoT.

The bill would "convene a working group of federal entities that would consult with private sector stakeholders to provide recommendations to Congress." Those would include how to encourage the growth of IoT, seeking input from the private sector to help prevent "regulatory silos."

It would also direct the FCC to launch a proceeding on the spectrum needs of IoT.

Congress has estimated that more than 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020 generating billions of dollars in economic opportunity.

The bill directs the Secretary of Commerce to convene a working group of federal stakeholders to advise Congress on how to plan and encourage IoT, including spectrum needs and the appropriate regulatory environment for things like consumer protection, privacy and security.

The working group will have to consult with industry stakeholders.

The FCC, in consultation with the National Telecommunications & Information Administration, will have to conduct a study to evaluate what spectrum will be necessary to accommodate that explosion in connected devices, including whether adequate licensed and unlicensed spectrum is available, what role each agency should play in the growth of IoT and what regulatory "barriers" exist.

Daniel Castro, director of the Center for Data Innovation, said the bill puts the country on track to be a global IoT leader.

"By bringing together a broad cross-section of stakeholders in government and industry to shape a national strategy for the Internet of Things, the bipartisan DIGIT Act would put the United States on track to secure the enormous potential benefits this technology has to offer for both the private sector and the public," Castro said. "To make the United States more competitive and seize on all the opportunities from the Internet of Things, this working group should focus broadly on all challenges and opportunities the technology presents."

Competitive Carriers Association president/CEO Steven K. Berry said: “I thank Senators Fischer, Booker, Gardner and Schatz for the bipartisan reintroduction of the DIGIT Act. IoT already plays a major role in the mobile industry, and demand – by consumers and businesses – for these unique services will only continue to increase.  Competitive carriers must have access to 5G technologies to ensure their customers have access to IoT services and to effectively compete with the largest national carriers.”

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) will address the Independent Show in Orlando July 25.

Fischer, who is a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, will be interviewed by American Cable Association president Matt Polka.

"ACA is very delighted that Sen. Fischer will be on hand to discuss the key issues that she and her constituents across Nebraska care so much about," said Polka. "Her leadership on providing 21st Century telecommunications services in the hard-to-reach spaces of the State and country mirrors so many of ACA's perspectives."

For example, Fischer was among a group of senators who recently asked FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to further study the impact of its set-top box proposal on smaller pay-TV providers before proceeding to vote on a final order.

Also on the agenda are remarks from FCC Commissioner and former chair Mignon Clyburn.

The show, which focuses on issues facing independent cable operators, is being held July 24-27 at Walt Disney World's Swan and Dolphin Resort.