Individual HTML example · Forced action

Reward loop required for document export

A fictional study service makes certificate export depend on completing seven daily streak tasks that were not disclosed when the course was bought.

Gamified or paid access coercionLearning platformAccount Management

This is an original fictional comparison. It depicts no real business and is not a regulator finding, statutory category or legal safe harbour.

Learning platformAccount Management

Reward loop required for document export

A fictional study service makes certificate export depend on completing seven daily streak tasks that were not disclosed when the course was bought.

Potentially problematicKeep the streak to export
Neutral alternativeYour certificate is ready

Why the first version can mislead: The additional dependency controls access to the account management goal. The panel states: “Seven more daily tasks are required before the certificate link activates.” Reviewers need to establish whether “Return tomorrow” is necessary for the selected task or pressures the user into a separable action. Learners may be forced into additional engagement or lose a completion record they already earned.

What a fairer design does: Provide the earned certificate directly and present streak activities as optional learning support.

Show annotated differences (4)
Potentially problematic version
  • Seven more daily tasks are required before the certificate link activates.Why this state matters: The additional dependency controls access to the account management goal. The panel states: “Seven more daily tasks are required before the certificate link activates.” Reviewers need to establish whether “Return tomorrow” is necessary for the selected task or pressures the user into a separable action. Learners may be forced into additional engagement or lose a completion record they already earned.
  • Unconfirmed state: Return tomorrowReview prompt: What functional need makes “Return tomorrow” necessary for the learning platform goal, and can that need be met with less disclosure or commitment?
Neutral alternative
  • Course completion unlocks export immediately; practice streaks remain optional.Fairer design: Provide the earned certificate directly and present streak activities as optional learning support.
  • Persisted account state, expanded: The saved state behind “Download certificate” remains consistent after refresh and across supported channels.Review prompt: Test the control across refresh, device and account states; is “Repeated labour or additional payment is the effective unlock route” still observable after persistence is considered?
Review questions (3)
  • What functional need makes “Return tomorrow” necessary for the learning platform goal, and can that need be met with less disclosure or commitment?
  • Test the control across refresh, device and account states; is “Repeated labour or additional payment is the effective unlock route” still observable after persistence is considered?
  • Could the stated purpose make this dependency genuinely necessary under the boundary “clearly disclosed optional cosmetic purchases”, and what product evidence would demonstrate that necessity?
Side-by-side learning platform interface showing “Keep the streak to export” and the clearer alternative “Your certificate is ready”.Provenance: Original hypothetical learning platform example created for this library; no real business, product or interface is depicted.

Complete practice context

How this example relates to Gamified or paid access coercion

Desired functionality is practically conditioned on repetitive engagement or an additional payment not sufficiently clear at acquisition. This is a design and research taxonomy for learning and evidence review, not a statutory offence label or an automatic finding that an interface is unlawful.

The full guide explains inclusion and exclusion criteria, potential harms, fairer design, evidence questions and separate Australian 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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Sources and provenance for this example

Evidence base

Sources

  1. Dark commercial patternsOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development · Secondary · checked 2026-09-14 · OECD Digital Economy Papers No. 336
  2. Competition and Consumer Amendment (Unfair Trading Practices) Act 2026Federal Register of Legislation · Primary · checked 2026-09-14 · C2026A00064