United States of America: Joint Economic Committee announced investigation into 6Sense over alleged use of dark patterns to hide data opt-out options

On 13 August 2025, the Congressional Joint Economic Committee announced an investigation into 6sense over the company’s data opt-out practices. An investigation found that more than 30 data brokers, including 6sense, hid opt-out options using dark patterns, including tiny links, multiple screens, pop-ups, and code that excluded pages from Google and Bing. The Committee directed 6sense to explain its design choices, confirm whether exclusionary code was used and commit to removing it by 3 September 2025. It also required sharing data on affected users and providing audit results from the past five years. It also requested details on steps taken to improve visibility.