False hierarchy
Annual upgrade dominates monthly continuation
A fictional software trial uses a large highlighted annual-upgrade card and places the existing monthly option as low-contrast text beneath testimonials.
Individual HTML example · Interface interference
Consent choices with unequal prominence
A fictional service displays a full-width coloured “Accept all” button while “Use necessary data only” is a faint text link after several paragraphs.
This is an original fictional comparison. It depicts no real company and is not a legal finding or safe harbour.
Consent choices with unequal prominence
A fictional service displays a full-width coloured “Accept all” button while “Use necessary data only” is a faint text link after several paragraphs.
Choose your privacy settings. Acceptance dominates the panel and the lower-data route is visually detached.. Selected: Accept all. Not selected: Use necessary data only
Choose your privacy settings. Necessary-only and optional choices are visible together with equal clarity.. Not selected: Use necessary data only. Not selected: Accept all. Choice consequences, expanded: The consequence of selecting “Use necessary data only” is displayed beside the option.
Why the first version can mislead: The presentation changes what the user can notice or predict at the signup decision. The problematic state shows: “Acceptance dominates the panel and the lower-data route is visually detached.” Its influence should be tested by comparing the consequence and usability of “Accept all” with “Use necessary data only”. People may overlook a genuine lower-data option because the visual hierarchy favours acceptance.
What a fairer design does: Give materially different privacy choices stable labels, comparable prominence and concise consequences.
Show annotated differences (2)
Potentially problematic version
- Not selected: Use necessary data onlyIn “Consent choices with unequal prominence”, this element shows how false hierarchy can shape the decision.
Neutral alternative
- Choice consequences, expanded: The consequence of selecting “Use necessary data only” is displayed beside the option.In “Consent choices with unequal prominence”, this element keeps the clearer alternative visible at the same decision point.
Review questions (3)
- Do “Accept all” and “Use necessary data only” receive comparable prominence and explain their consequences before activation?
- Capture every peer option, its default state and visual prominence; do those states support “Two or more options address the same decision”?
- What neutral rendering or comprehension result would falsify the classification, particularly in light of “Primary progress versus back navigation that does not represent parallel substantive outcomes”?
Complete pattern context
How this example relates to False hierarchy
Parallel options are presented as if one were hierarchically primary, giving a business-favoured option materially greater visual or interactive prominence. The label describes a recurring design mechanism; whether a particular implementation is harmful or unlawful depends on the complete journey, audience, evidence and rules within scope.
The full guide explains inclusion and exclusion criteria, harms, fair design principles, evidence questions and the relevant EU legal information layers. The example page isolates one scenario so it can be shared and discussed without reproducing the complete library on one page.
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Related examples
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Bundled options
Ticket and travel pass presented as one package
A fictional ticket seller offers a concert ticket only through a control that also adds a city travel pass, although the travel component is separately deliverable and not required for entry.
Bundled options
Support and migration locked into one plan
A fictional service offers a core plan only as a bundle with premium support and data migration, while implying those extras can be removed later although no controls exist.
Sources and provenance for this example
Evidence base
Sources
- Dark commercial patternsOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development · Secondary · checked 2026-09-14 · OECD Digital Economy Papers No. 336
- Unfair Commercial Practices DirectiveEuropean Parliament and Council of the European Union · Primary · checked 2026-08-09 · Directive 2005/29/EC; CELEX 02005L0029-20220528
- Digital Services ActEuropean Parliament and Council of the European Union · Primary · checked 2026-08-09 · Regulation (EU) 2022/2065; CELEX 32022R2065
- Digital Fairness Act: call for evidence for an impact assessmentEuropean Commission · Primary · checked 2026-08-09 · Initiative 14622; Ares(2025)6275573