The Government’s attempt to crack down on the so-called “dark patterns” that consumer internet companies use to trick consumers into making larger purchases would make compliance more difficult for these businesses, but it might not be able to solve the problem right away, according to attorneys and business leaders.
E-commerce and quick commerce companies utilise manipulative and misleading design techniques on their apps, known as “dark patterns,” to trick users into making unwanted purchases or make it harder for them to cancel membership programs.
The Centre released a recommendation on June 7th, requesting that businesses perform self-audits in order to spot troubling trends and take the appropriate action to stop them. This came after Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi met with representatives from a number of online businesses, including Ola, Rapido, Flipkart, BigBasket, Tata 1mg, Swiggy, Zomato, and Blinkit parent company Eternal.
Workflows for internal compliance, including audits, sign-offs, and regular reporting, must be formalised on platforms. Additionally, the government has suggested that a joint working group be established to investigate and take action to find e-commerce platform infractions of dark pattern regulations. The group would then periodically communicate the findings with the consumer affairs department. Executives stated that specialised teams will be needed for frequent submissions to the joint working group once it is established.
To make sure that no dark patterns are accidentally or purposely implemented, e-commerce portals and the services that enable their development must regularly test and design their user interfaces and procedures.
After discovering 13 such activities, the Government issued a notification in December 2023 outlawing the usage of dark patterns. Fake urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription traps, drip pricing, rogue virus, trick phrasing, pestering, and disguised ads are a few examples.
