The government has banned the use of “dark patterns” — intentionally designed deception — by e-commerce and all other online platforms when selling products and services that manipulate customers and force them to sign up or buy products they don’t mean or tempt them to buy more expensive products. The government has informed the adoption of this as an “unfair trade practice”.
Under the Consumer Protection Act, offenders can face fines and disciplinary action from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) and can also be prosecuted before the Consumer Commission.
In a Gazette Notice issued by the CCPA titled “Guidelines for Prevention and Control of Dark Patterns”, the authority defined “dark patterns” as any practice or “deceptive design pattern” that uses user interface or user experience interactions on any platform to trick users into doing Misleading or deceiving what they don’t intend or don’t want to do.
Guidelines that have legal backing will apply to all platforms, systematically offering products or services; Advertisers and Sellers.
The ministry has defined 13 fraudulent practices that will be deemed as ‘dark patterns’ and include creating false urgency by creating an artificial sense of scarcity; Basket hiding, where additional items are included so that the total amount paid by the user exceeds the amount paid for the product plus the subscription trap.
