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The False Urgency Dark Pattern
Violates: EU Unfair Commercial Practices DirectiveViolates: FTC Act (Section 5)
What is it?
Imposing a fake time limit on a sale or offer to pressure the user into making a quick decision. Often implemented via countdown timers that reset upon page refresh.
Why it's harmful
It creates artificial anxiety and prevents the consumer from taking the time to compare prices or make a rational purchasing decision.
Example in the wild
"A banner states "Offer ends in 05:00 minutes!" with a ticking clock, but refreshing the page resets the clock back to 5 minutes."
How to fix it
Only use countdown timers for genuine, strictly enforced deadlines. Once the timer hits zero, the offer must truly expire.
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