The Ministry of Consumer Affairs has given e-commerce companies three months to ensure that their platforms do not engage in “deceptive and unfair” dark patterns.
According to an advisory issued by the Ministry’s Central Consumer Protection Authority on Saturday, the government has asked e-comm players to take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms do not resort to trade practices which are in the nature of dark patterns.
“All e-commerce platforms have been advised to conduct self-audits to identify dark patterns, within 3 months of the issue of the advisory,” a press release read.
The platforms have also been encouraged to give self-declarations that will enable a fair digital ecosystem and build trust between consumers and e-commerce platforms, the Ministry added.
The government has also constituted a Joint Working Group of representatives from concerned ministries, regulators, voluntary consumer organisations and national law universities. The JWG will be examining and undertaking measures to identify violations of dark patterns on e-commerce platforms and share the information with the consumer affairs department on regular intervals.
“The JWG shall also suggest appropriate awareness programmes for creating awareness amongst the consumers,” the Ministry said.
Wider Strategy
The self-audit advisory builds up on a larger plan in New Delhi to restrain the spread of unfair trade practices in the country’s rapidly-growing e-commerce space.
In late May, Consumer Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi had held a high-level stakeholder meeting with over 50 e-commerce platforms, industry bodies like Nasscom, and consumer groups to address the growing menace of dark patterns, which are design tactics that mislead users into making unintended choices.
Thirteen such patterns had been formally identified in the existing guidelines. Joshi had said platforms have been “sensitised and cautioned,” with a clear directive that the law of the land must be followed.
The identified dark patterns included False Urgency, Basket Sneaking, Hidden Costs, Disguised Ads, Confirm Shaming, Interface Interference, Forced Action, SaaS Billing, Nagging, Trick Questions, Bait and Switch, Rogue Malware and Subscription Traps.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, while speaking to reporters at a briefing on dark patterns, had said that these patterns are not accidents. “These are algorithmic manipulations,” she said, adding that the CCPA had issued a total of 401 notices, of which 11 pertained to dark patterns.
This included notices to four ride-hailing platforms, Khare had added, saying that the cases of dynamic pricing are also under probe. If there are cases of this in the railways, then CCPA will look into it, the bureaucrat further explained.
Ministry Meeting With Stakeholders
Joshi, following the meeting on May 28, told reporters that platforms had been asked to “ensure that third-party sellers also have to comply”.
Representatives of major e-commerce companies such as 1mg.com, Airbnb, Amazon, Apple, Zepto, Booking.com, Ola Electric, IndiGo Airlines, Ixigo, MakeMyTrip, Mastercard, Meta, Rapido, Shiprocket, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Thomas Cook, Uber, Whatsapp, Yatra, Zomato & Blinkit, Flipkart, Google, Justdial, ONDC, and Paytm were present during the meeting.
Further, major industry associations Competition Commission of India, Ficci, Nasscom, PHDCCI, and Retailers Association of India along with voluntary consumer organisations attended the meeting.
The joint working group, now formally announced, was proposed in the meeting, and platforms assured the Ministry of full cooperation, Joshi further said.
The government also launched three digital tools: Jagriti App for awareness, Jago Grahak Jago App to report violations, and a Jagriti Dashboard to help consumers.
According to an analysis of 228 online platforms by LocalCircles, as many as 54% were found to be engaging in forced action. About 48% were using drip pricing and 34% were deploying bait and switch and the subscription trap, among others.
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