The Indian government has called upon the ecommerce industry to establish a self-regulatory framework to combat the use of “dark patterns.” Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Singh announced on Tuesday that the framework should be created within the next two months. The Department of Consumer Affairs, along with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and industry stakeholders, conducted a consultation in Mumbai to address the issue.
Representatives from various ecommerce platforms attended the meeting, including Flipkart, Zomato, Amazon, Meta, Google, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Snapdeal, Uber, Ola, BigBasket, Meesho, PharmEasy, Tata 1mg, and Shiprocket. Dark patterns refer to manipulative practices employed by online platforms, such as drip pricing, disguised advertising, bait and click, choice manipulation, false urgency, and privacy concerns.
During the stakeholder meeting, Singh expressed the consumer affairs department’s concerns about the prevalence of dark patterns on ecommerce platforms and online travel aggregators (OTAs). He emphasized the need to inform consumers about their actions and provide them with the ability to opt out.
Singh urged ecommerce players to collaborate with the ASCI and legal firms to establish a self-regulatory framework to address dark patterns. He stated that regulators would focus on raising awareness initially, but would intervene with regulations if ecommerce platforms failed to comply. Dark patterns fall under unfair trade practices, which are covered by consumer protection laws, Singh added.
Singh emphasized that ecommerce companies have a responsibility to uphold consumer trust and may be held liable for their actions. The government has been exploring avenues to make ecommerce companies share liability in cases of fraud. In November, the government introduced a framework to tackle fake reviews on ecommerce websites.
Although ecommerce companies currently enjoy protection from liability under Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000, the government aims to address fraudulent activities and mis-selling prevalent on these platforms. ASCI’s CEO and Secretary General, Manisha Kapoor, revealed that the self-regulatory body for the advertising industry would soon release guidelines on dark patterns. Kapoor asserted that dark patterns extend beyond advertising to areas like transactions and subscriptions, and ecommerce companies cannot evade responsibility on this matter.
The government’s call for a self-regulatory framework reflects its commitment to protecting consumers and ensuring transparency in the ecommerce industry, while promoting responsible practices among online platforms.
