The government is determined to combat the deceptive tactics, known as 'dark patterns,' used by digital commerce firms to subtly manipulate consumers into specific choices. On Thursday, the Department of Consumer Affairs initiated the 'Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023' to encourage the development of software solutions capable of identifying such dark patterns on e-commerce platforms.
The government is keen to curb the menace of ‘dark patterns’ employed by digital commerce companies to subtly trick consumers to make certain choices. The Department of Consumer Affairs on Thursday launched ‘Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023’ to help create software solutions to detect dark patterns on e-commerce platforms. In September 2023, it had brought out detailed guidelines defining tactics that can be considered dark patterns.
What are dark patterns?
Dark patterns are essentially deceptive user-interface practices crafted by digital commerce companies and online advertisers to manipulate users to make choices or do things that may not be in their interests but benefits the company implementing it.
The draft guidelines issued by the consumer affairs department identify the following as dark patterns:
False urgency: Portraying that a product is in limited supply and a customer would miss out on a big opportunity by not buying it or taking the deal.
Basket sneaking: Adding products to a customer’s cart before checkout without obtaining their consent.
Nagging: Bombarding users with requests that are not related to why they are using a platform, such as asking you to download their mobile app again and again even if you keep closing the pop-up.
Confirm shaming: This occurs when a platform uses guilt to make you buy something or keep a subscription.
Forced action: When a platform makes you do extra things, like buying another product, to get what you originally wanted.
Subscription trap: Makes cancelling a paid subscription hard or requires payment info for a free trial.
Interface interference: Changes the design to manipulate your actions.
Bait and switch: Promises one thing but delivers something else.
Drip pricing: When a platform doesn’t show the full price upfront. It covers advertising something as free but making you buy more.
Disguised advertisement: Hides ads as different types of content – like pretending an ad is a user’s post or a news article.
Why does the government want to curb dark patterns?
According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, such practices are unfair trade practices and are detrimental to consumers’ interests.
They are designed to mislead users to do something they originally don’t intend or want to do by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, amounting to misleading advertisement, unfair trade practice, or violation of consumer rights.
What is the government trying to do about it?
The consumer affairs department came out with draft guidelines that propose prohibitions against engaging in dark patterns. These were put in the public domain for consultation. The objective is to clearly identify and define tactics as dark patterns so that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs can act against platforms indulging in this under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
The draft guidelines, once notified, shall apply to all platforms systematically offering goods or services in India, advertisers, and sellers.
The department, in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi, has announced a hackathon for students to design software plug-ins that will detect dark patterns used by ecommerce websites and will alert consumers about these detrimental practices.
This software can be browser extension, plug-ins, mobile apps, and add-ons that will keep a check and vigil for the user.
How will these guidelines affect businesses?
The guidelines, if notified, can have a big impact on public and private businesses across D2C businesses, e-commerce, and financial services, including new-age fintechs and banks, according to experts from the startup world.
Some industry groups have said that such guidelines may stagnate the growth of the country’s digital economy and urged the government to consider the current self-regulatory framework as the primary measure to restrict the use of dark patterns. They also argued that online platforms are already regulated in the country under various existing laws.
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