Deceptive patterns (also known as "dark patterns") are all over the Web. I'll speak to the accessibility impact deceptive patterns have, how they create barriers for people with disabilities, neurodiverse folks, and everyone in some manner, and why we need to put "dark" patterns to rest as a monolithic term that has racial connotations, and my work in the W3C to have these published in WCAG3 to try and reduce harm on the Web. I will talk about Deceptive patterns (those UX patterns that are released with intent) and anti-patterns (those UX patterns released without intent) and what we can do about them. Due to the term being written in legal circles and widely accepted, I try and explain why I think those people behind the work need to change the language toward a more inclusive and applicable term.

I'll introduce people to the Framework for Accessible Specification of Technologies (FAST) which advises creators of technical specifications on ensuring their technology meets the needs of users with disabilities. It primarily addresses web content technologies but also relates to any technology that affects web content sent to users, including client-side APIs, transmission protocols, and interchange formats. Specifications that implement these guidelines make it possible for content authors and user agents to render the content in an accessible manner to people with a wide range of abilities. Work is being done in the W3C to introduce these to FAST. I'll talk about FAST, what it means to accessibility, and to users, developers, designers, and everyone in-between in the organization.

I'll introduce people to the Framework for Accessible Specification of Technologies (FAST) which advises creators of technical specifications on ensuring their technology meets the needs of users with disabilities.