Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Tuesday warned e-commerce companies against deploying deceptive user interface designs known as "dark patterns," stating that the practice violates consumer rights and amounts to unfair trade.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs defines dark patterns as deceptive UI/UX designs on platforms that mislead users into actions they did not intend, undermining consumer autonomy and decision-making, and constituting misleading ads or unfair trade practices.
Addressing a stakeholders session, Khare highlighted various ways for online platforms to refrain from using designs that mislead consumers into making unintended purchases or subscriptions, an official statement said.
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She suggested improvements like relying on consumer feedback, monitoring user satisfaction and repeat customers, using app features to identify non-compliant patterns, and self-auditing specified dark patterns, according to an official statement.
Representatives from the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, the All India Gaming Federation, and firms like Zomato, EaseMyTrip, Urban Company, Uber, and CRED attended the session.
The Department of Consumer Affairs, which notified guidelines to prevent dark patterns in November 2023, has specified 13 such designs, including false urgency alerts, subscription traps, basket sneaking, forced actions, confirm-shaming, interface interference, drip pricing, trick questions, disguised advertising, bait-and-switch pricing, and nagging tactics.
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Initially, 10 dark patterns were added; three were added later, after public consultation. All Indian merchants, advertisers, and online platforms that offer products or services are subject to these guidelines.
Using dark patterns will be considered deceptive advertising, unfair business practices, or a breach of consumer rights, and the penalty will be assessed in accordance with the terms of the Consumer Protection Act, the guidelines added.
Rohit Kumar Singh, the Consumer Affairs Secretary, had said PTI earlier, “In the emerging digital commerce, dark patterns are increasingly being used by the platforms to mislead consumers by manipulating their buying choices and behavior.”
(With inputs from PTI)
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