Government Notifies Guidelines On 'Dark Patterns' On E-Commerce Platforms To Protect Consumers

The government has implemented a ban on the use of 'dark patterns' on e-commerce platforms in a bid to safeguard consumer interests.

The 'dark patterns' are deceptive tactics used on E-commerce platforms to manipulate customer choices.

A gazette notification on "Guidelines for prevention and regulation of dark patterns" was published on 30 November by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). The guidelines apply to all platforms that provide goods and services in India, as well as to advertisers and sellers.

Resorting to dark patterns will amount to misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights. The penalty will be imposed as per the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, it added.

"In the emerging digital commerce, dark patterns are increasingly being used by the platforms to mislead the consumers by manipulating their buying choices and behaviour," Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The notified guidelines will provide clear understanding to all involved parties, including buyers, sellers, marketplaces, and regulators, regarding what constitutes as unacceptable unfair trading practices, he said, adding that these practices would be liable under the Consumer Protection Act.

According to the notification, dark patterns have been defined as any practice or deceptive design pattern using user interface or user experience interactions on any platform that is designed to mislead or trick users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do, by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, decision making or choice.

For example, the deceptive technique known as 'basket sneaking' covertly adds extra items like products, services, or charitable donations to a user's checkout on a platform. This is done without the user's permission, causing the total sum they have to pay to exceed the cost of the product or service they initially selected.

Another dark pattern called "forced action" refers to forcing a user into taking an action that would require the user to buy any additional goods or subscribe or sign up for an unrelated service or share personal information in order to buy or subscribe to the product or service originally intended by the user.

Similarly, the CCPA has outlined 13 dark patterns, intended solely to serve as a guidance for the industry.

At first, CCPA had recognised 10 dark patterns, however, following public consultation, an additional three were incorporated.