Mapping the Scholarship of the Regulation of Dark Patterns: A Systematic Review of Concepts, Regulatory Paradigms, and Solutions from Law and HCI perspectives

In recent years, dark patterns, which are interface designs that manipulate user decisions, have raised growing regulatory concern. Yet scholarship on their governance remains fragmented, particularly in how the concept is defined, the harms are understood, and legal responses are framed. This paper offers a systematic review of 65 studies from Law and Human–Computer Interaction, following PRISMA guidelines. It identifies five root problems and layered harms, critiques sectoral regulations for their theoretical and enforcement limits, and synthesises proposed solutions, from doctrinal refinements and accountability measures to technical design interventions. Building on these findings, the paper argues that regulatory progress is hindered by the elusive nature of dark patterns, the difficulty of pinpointing actionable harms, and the expanding scope of the concept. It concludes by advocating a paradigmatic shift towards a proactive framework centred on ‘diligent design’, and outlines directions for collaborative, transdisciplinary research.