Dark patterns in digital commerce in India are a serious issue that affects the rights and interests of consumers. According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, dark patterns are deceptive and manipulative user-interface practices that online platforms use to trick or coerce consumers into making choices that benefit the platform but not the consumer.
Some examples of dark patterns are:
False urgency: Creating a sense of scarcity or limited-time offer to pressure consumers into buying a product or service quickly.
Basket sneaking: Adding products or services to the consumer’s cart without their consent or knowledge.
Subscription traps: Making it easy for consumers to sign up for a service but hard for them to cancel it, often by hiding the cancellation option or requiring multiple steps.
Confirm shaming: Using guilt or negative language to make consumers feel bad for not choosing a certain option or agreeing to a certain request.
Forced action: Making consumers do extra things, such as buying another product or giving personal information, to get what they originally wanted.
Nagging: Bombarding consumers with requests or messages that are not related to why they are using the platform, such as asking them to download an app or rate a service.
Interface interference: Changing the design or layout of the platform to make it difficult for consumers to take certain actions, such as canceling a subscription or deleting an account.
Bait and switch: Promising one thing but delivering something else, such as advertising a product as free but charging for it later or showing a different price at checkout.
Drip pricing: Not showing the full price upfront but adding extra fees or charges later in the process.
Disguised advertisement: Hiding ads as different types of content, such as user posts, news articles, or reviews.
The government has taken steps to curb the use of dark patterns by online platforms, as they are considered unfair trade practices and violate consumer rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 20191.
In September 2023, the government issued detailed guidelines defining the tactics that can be considered dark patterns and the principles that online platforms should follow to ensure fair and transparent practices.
Earlier in June 2023, the government also launched the ‘Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023’ to encourage the development of software solutions that can detect and report dark patterns on e-commerce platforms.
The Indian government’s initiatives aim to protect consumers’ interests and enhance their trust and confidence in online platforms and digital commerce in general. However, consumers and businesses need also to take steps to mitigate the impact of dark patterns, such as being aware of the common tactics, using tools to block or report them, or choosing platforms that respect user autonomy and transparency.