The Ministry of Consumer Affairs on Tuesday warned e-commerce platforms that the use of deceptive user interface designs, also known as “dark patterns”, is considered an “unfair trade practice” and a violation of consumer rights.
Speaking at a stakeholder session, DoCA Executive Director Nidhi Khare emphasised the need to refrain from using deceptive designs that may mislead consumers into making unintended purchases or subscriptions.
She suggested improvements such as relying on consumer feedback, monitoring user satisfaction and repeat customers, using app features to identify non-compliant patterns and self-auditing for specific dark patterns, the official statement added.
The session was attended by representatives from Indian Institutes of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, All India Gaming Federation and companies like Zomato, EaseMyTrip, Urban Company, Uber and CRED.
The ministry notified the Guidelines on Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns 2023 in November 2023. The guidelines specify 13 dark patterns including creating false urgency, basket sneaking, confirmation blaming, coercive action, subscription traps, interface interference, bait-and-switch tactics, drip pricing, deceptive advertising and persistent solicitations, trick claims, SaaS billing, and fraudulent malware.
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