Context:

Ministry of Consumer Affairs recently convened a high-level meeting in New Delhi to address the growing menace of dark patterns on digital platforms. Chaired by Union Minister Prahlad Joshi, the meeting brought together representatives from over 50 e-commerce companies and aimed to foster compliance with recently issued guidelines targeting manipulative digital practices.

What Are Dark Patterns?

Dark patterns refer to deceptive user interface designs that subtly coerce, mislead, or manipulate consumers into making decisions they would not have otherwise made.

·        These may include tactics such as creating false urgency, hiding cancellation options, auto-selecting add-ons, or misrepresenting prices.

·        Such practices violate the principles of fair trade and transparency, and increasingly fall under the ambit of misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices.

Ministry's Action and Guidelines

The ministry has officially identified 13 distinct types of dark patterns, including tactics like false urgency and misleading promotional content. These patterns have drawn concern due to a marked increase in consumer complaints, especially those reported on the National Consumer Helpline (NCH).

The Ministry's guidelines on dark patterns were framed following extensive consultations with key stakeholders, including major e-commerce firms and industry associations.

Key provisions of the guidelines include:

• Clear opt-out and cancellation options during digital transactions.
• Prohibition of manipulative urgency tactics, such as fake countdown timers or false stock levels.
• A strong emphasis on informed consumer consent, particularly around add-on services and subscription renewals.

Steps Taken to Tackle Dark Patterns

The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 were introduced under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. These guidelines clearly define and ban 13 types of dark patterns—tricks used by websites or apps to mislead users into making choices they wouldn’t normally make.

As part of the effort, new tools were created during the Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023 to help protect consumers:

·         Jagriti App: Lets users report dark patterns they see on shopping websites directly to the government (CCPA).

·         Jago Grahak Jago App: Warns users about unsafe platforms and gives live safety scores for e-commerce links.

·         Jagriti Dashboard: A powerful tool that tracks and analyses dark patterns on online platforms, helping the CCPA take action.

Conclusion:

This initiative marks a pivotal moment in India’s consumer protection regime. While the rise of e-commerce has empowered consumers with more choices, it has also introduced complex interface designs that often exploit behavioral psychology.

With dark patterns increasingly recognized as violations of consumer rights, India joins a global movement that includes jurisdictions like the European Union and the United States in tackling deceptive digital design.

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