New Delhi, June 7 (UNI) As part of the government’s broader strategy to strengthen consumer protection in digital era and curb unfair practices in e-commerce and online services, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has asked all e-commerce platforms to take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms do not engage in deceptive and unfair trade practice which are in the nature of dark patterns.
The CCPA issued an advisory to bolster ongoing efforts to ‘strengthen consumer protection in the digital era and curb unfair practices in e-commerce and online services,’ an official statement said on Saturday.
All e-commerce platforms have been advised to conduct self-audits to identify dark patterns, within three months of the issue of the advisory and take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms are free from such dark patterns.
The e-commerce platforms, based on self-audit reports, have also encouraged to give self-declarations that their platform is not indulging in any dark patterns. The self-declarations by the platforms will enable fair digital ecosystem along with building trust between consumers and e-commerce platforms.
The CCPA also issued notices to e-commerce platforms in some cases that have been found violating the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns. ‘All e-commerce platforms are, therefore, advised to refrain from deploying deceptive design interfaces that mislead consumers or manipulate their decision-making,’ the statement said.
The CCPA has been keeping a close watch on the violation of the Guidelines issued for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns. Instances of dark patterns have been noticed on e-commerce platforms.
The Department of Consumers Affairs also constituted a Joint Working Group (JWG) comprising representatives from Ministries, regulators, voluntary consumer organizations and NLUs. The mandate of this JWG is to examine and undertake measures to identify violations of dark patterns on e-commerce platforms and share the information with the Department of Consumer Affairs on regular intervals. The JWG shall also suggest appropriate awareness programmes for creating awareness amongst the consumers.
The Department of Consumer Affairs had notified Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns in 2023 and specified 13 dark patterns including False urgency, Basket Sneaking, Confirm shaming, forced action, Subscription trap, Interface Interference, Bait and switch, Drip Pricing, Disguised Advertisements and Nagging, Trick Wording and Rogue Malwares.
