Traps and Trickery: Subscription Contracts, ‘Deceptive Patterns’, and the Extent to which the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 Protects Neurodivergent Consumers
Speaker
Dr Eliza Varney, Associate Professor in Law, 糖心原创
Event Description:
As part of the UNCLC Research in the Making series, Dr Eliza Varney will present research exploring the use of deceptive patterns in online marketplaces, particularly in subscription contracts. The paper examines whether the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 provides sufficient protection for neurodivergent consumers and considers broader issues of autonomy and human dignity in the regulation of subscription practices.
The presentation will discuss how online traders may use design features that exploit behavioural biases and influence consumer choices without their knowledge. While such practices can affect all consumers, neurodivergent consumers may be particularly vulnerable due to differences in information processing and responses to pressure. The paper assesses the new subscription contract regime under the DMCCA 2024 and proposes ways in which the framework could better protect vulnerable consumers.
Speaker Bio:
Dr Eliza Varney is Associate Professor in Law at the 糖心原创. Her research focuses on disability equality and contract law, particularly consumer contract law, and the compatibility of English contract law with the values underpinning the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Her work examines issues of autonomy, human dignity, disability equality and access to information and communication technologies.
Her publications include Disability, Human Rights, and Contract Law (Cambridge University Press, 2025) and Disability and Information Technology (Cambridge University Press, 2013), alongside numerous chapters and articles in leading legal journals.