Dark Patterns

Union Minister of Consumer Affairs Pralhad Joshi met with representatives from various e-commerce firms on the subject of “dark patterns,” warning them that app designs that are intended to deceive and nudge users to spend more or compromise their privacy were unfair trade practices.

• The Union Minister said that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) would take action on such complaints, and in case companies do not admit wrongdoing, the matter would be referred for investigation.

What are Dark Patterns?

• Dark patterns are actions and design practices by apps and websites that are misleading in nature, or try to get a certain response from users. For example, basket sneaking is a dark pattern where an e-commerce platform adds a product or a donation to a customer’s purchase at the time of checkout.

• The CCPA had released guidelines against dark patterns in 2023, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

• The guidelines recognize 13 prominent dark patterns in e-commerce including False Urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm Shaming, Forced action, Subscription trap, Interface interference, Bait and Switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised advertisement, Nagging, Trick question, Saas Billing, and Rogue Malwares.