In brief
The AGCM has announced that it has fined a well-known company active in the online sale of furniture, bathroom furnishings, and home goods EUR 2 million. The company was found to have implemented on its e-commerce website a dark pattern consisting of a fake countdown timer used to misleadingly advertise prices and "limited-time discounts" that, in reality, were renewed identically upon expiry.
Text of the decision (in Italian) here.
Key takeaways
- The conduct established
- Dark patterns and the AGCM enforcement trend
- Conclusion
In more detail
1. The conduct established
The proceeding concerned a single commercial practice carried out, at least since early January 2024, through:
- A fake countdown timer advertising time-limited discounts that were in fact renewed identically upon expiry
- The combined use of an indicator of the number of items available, capable of reinforcing the perception of product scarcity
- A misleading presentation of prices and discounts for products sold "on promotion" on the trader's website.
According to the AGCM, the conduct constitutes a practice that is "in any event misleading" pursuant to Article 23(1)(g) of the Consumer Code (the so-called "black list").
The conduct was considered particularly insidious because it is based on a manipulation technique grounded in artificial urgency: imposing a fictitious time limit exploits the so-called "scarcity heuristic", pushing consumers toward impulsive purchases and depriving them of the time necessary to make an informed choice.
2. Dark patterns and the AGCM enforcement trend
The decision provides an opportunity to provide an overview of dark patterns and the AGCM's increasing enforcement activity.
In the absence of an express definition in the Consumer Code, dark patterns are commonly understood as manipulative design strategies implemented in user interfaces in order to induce choices that are not aligned with the consumer's real interests.
According to the OECD (2022), they are "an umbrella term referring to a wide variety of practices commonly found in online user interfaces that lead consumers to make choices that often are not in their best interests" (OECD (2022), "Dark commercial patterns", OECD Digital Economy Papers, No. 336, OECD Publishing, Paris, [LINK].
The DSA (EU Regulation 2022/2065, Recital 67) describes them as "practices that materially distort or impair, either on purpose or in effect, the ability of recipients of the service to make autonomous and informed choices or decisions".
Typical categories include:
- Forced action (e.g., mandatory data disclosure)
- Interface interference (visual prominence of business-favorable options)
- Nagging (repeated requests)
- Obstruction (difficulty in cancelling a service)
- Sneaking (e.g., sneak into basket)
- Social proof (notifications about others' purchases)
- Urgency (countdown timers, fake scarcity, FOMO).
The 2022 European Commission study found that 97% of the most popular websites and apps in the EU use at least one dark pattern.
The decision fits within the AGCM's increasing enforcement trend on dark patterns, including:
- PS12709: countdown timers, low-stock messages, and forced registrations (pop-ups) to encourage excessive purchases, contrary to declared sustainability objectives
- PS12962: combined use of visual prominence and information overload
- PS12853: multiple techniques aimed at promoting subscription to a "prime" service and hindering cancellation, exploiting cognitive biases and emotional vulnerabilities, including reverse price presentation (framing effect) and the sneak-into-basket inclusion of a full-price prime subscription, with limited visibility of the resulting charge.
The decisional practice could, however, be broader if additional practices already under the Authority's scrutiny were considered as manipulative pathways, such as, for example, pre-ticked boxes and opt-out mechanisms that are difficult to implement.
3. Conclusion
The decision confirms the AGCM's increasing focus on digital architectures and, in particular, on interface design techniques capable of limiting consumers' decision-making autonomy.
The accurate representation of prices, discounts, time indicators, and availability constitutes a specific legal obligation, backed by a comprehensive system of sanctions – up to EUR 10 million for nationally relevant conduct and up to 4% of annual turnover for widespread infringement or the widespread infringement with a Union dimension – alongside the risk of civil litigation (including class actions) and reputational damage.
Operators are therefore advised to carry out structured and periodic reviews of their digital interfaces and promotional communications, taking into account the AGCM's growing scrutiny of dark patterns.
Related content
Text of the decision (in Italian) here.