Anatomy of Social Media Manipulation
Abstract
Social media platforms increasingly rely on dark patterns: interface design choices that steer, deceive or pressure users into decisions they would not otherwise make. These patterns shape how people consent to data processing, how long they stay engaged, what content they see and how hard it is for them to leave the service. This project critically analyses a specific social network to identify dark patterns that are systemic rather than isolated. We examine the full user journey, including onboarding, privacy and consent settings, content feeds and recommendations, notifications, advertising and account deletion. Each pattern is classified using established taxonomies from the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and regulatory literature, such as those of Gray et al. and Mathur et al. and the EDPB Guidelines 03/2022 on deceptive design patterns. We then assess the platform's compliance with the relevant European and international legal frameworks, notably the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), the AI Act and the OECD guidelines on dark commercial patterns. The analysis shows how individual design decisions add up to an architecture of manipulation that undermines user autonomy, informed consent and digital well-being, and that disproportionately affects vulnerable groups such as minors and people with disabilities. We end with a set of evidence-based recommendations for ethical, accessible and user-centred design, and discuss what the findings mean for regulators, designers and digital literacy education.
Keywords: dark patterns, deceptive design, social media, user autonomy, GDPR, Digital Services Act, digital ethics, accessibility
Short Bio
Ana Belén Gil González is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Automatics at the University of Salamanca (USAL), where she carries out her teaching and research activities in the fields of Computer Engineering and Applied Artificial Intelligence.
Holding a PhD in Computer Engineering with a European Mention and an Extraordinary Doctorate Award, her research specializes in Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) and personalization architectures. Her current work focuses on transferring technological solutions to the healthcare sector, efficiency in productive sectors, and social well-being, promoting AI applications that contribute to sustainable development.
She is currently the Director of USAL International Campuses in China and co-directs the ENIA International Chair in Reliable AI and Demographic Challenge, an initiative aimed at territorial cohesion through innovation. She represents the University of Salamanca in international academic forums such as Informatics Europe, the CRUSOE Group, and the Coimbra Group’s STEM working group.
Her research career includes authoring over 150 scientific publications and participating in more than 60 funded projects. Her work is closely linked to development with technology transfer, aiming to apply cutting-edge research to real-world solutions for both social and productive environments.
Her dedication and impactful contributions have earned her several prestigious recognitions, including being named an Honorary Member of the Professional Association of Computer Engineers of Castilla y León in 2025, serving as an Ambassador for the Salamanca Convention Bureau since 2024, and receiving the Gloria Begué Award for Teaching Excellence in 2022 and, recently in 2026, as Distinguished Professor at Ningbo Polytechnic University in China.