Consumer Affairs Secy warns e-commerce against ‘unfair’ dark patterns

New Delhi: Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare on Tuesday warned e-commerce companies against implementing deceptive user interface designs known as “dark patterns”, saying the practice violates consumer rights and constitutes unfair trade.

Addressing the stakeholders, Khare highlighted the various ways online platforms can refrain from adopting such designs that mislead consumers into making unintended purchases or subscriptions, an official statement said.

According to an official statement, it suggested improvements such as relying on consumer feedback, monitoring user and repeat customer satisfaction, using app features to identify non-compliant patterns, and self-monitoring for specific dark patterns.

The Department of Consumer Affairs, which notified guidelines to prevent dark patterns in November 2023, identified 13 such schemes, including false urgency alerts, subscription traps, bait-and-switch pricing and nuisance tactics.

The session was attended by representatives of the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, All India Gaming Federation, as well as companies such as Zomato, EaseMyTrip, Urban Company, Uber and CRED.