Mind The Gap Between Your Intelligence And Choice Architecture

Abstract: Digital footprints of online behaviour are now possible to gather through the use of cookies. As a result, consumer activities once considered private are now monitored and used by online businesses and marketers, providing them with information about who we are, what we think, and what we like. Data gathering is legal as long as consumers give consent to cookies, providing businesses with a reason to nudge consumers towards accepting cookie policies to acquire valuable data. As humans are imperfect creatures unable to sort out information to make perfectly rational decisions, the context of options for decision, called choice architecture, can be designed to influence consumers' decisions. Therefore this research aims to explore companies' design of cookie consent notices by examining how, and to what extent businesses use choice architecture as a method aimed to influence consumer decisions within cookie banners, despite current regulations. The authors provide a model developed in accordance with existing theoretical frameworks and former research, for analysing the level of manipulation within cookie banners through indicators proven influential in consumers decisions within online environments. Carried out with an observational method of website content analysis of Sweden's 50 largest companies and the 50 most visited websites, analysed through 56 items. The results confirm the use of choice architectural methods on businesses websites, whereas cookie consent options are found to be presented such that visitors are drawn towards accepting cookies i.e. sharing personal data. Presented in numbers, 55 % use choice architecture to emphasise the option to accept all cookies at the first visit on the website, 52 % highlight the accept button in a different and bright colour and 58 % provide consumers with an option to accept all cookies but not an option to decline all. When proceeding to the next step (manage cookie settings or read more), 41 % emphasise the option to accept all cookies within this second view. Choice architectural methods used to steer consumers decisions within cookie banners have been identified as default options in favour of the option to accept, framing of information, increasing the required effort (e.g. hidden options that require further interaction from the visitor/consumer in order to see all information and consent alternatives) and the use of colour and size to make an option stand out, thus framing it as the most attractive alternative. Combining the results of businesses market practices that confirms a gap in current regulations aim to protect consumers privacy, and previous research proving that the context for decisions affects users' decision making process, authors argue that choice architecture should be included in privacy regulations with consumers best interest in mind.