New Delhi, June 7 (IANS) The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) on Saturday issued an advisory to all e-commerce platforms to undertake a self-audit within three months to detect deceptive and unfair trade practices that are in the nature of dark patterns.

Dark patterns are design elements used on websites and apps to mislead or coerce users into making unintended choices. These practices erode consumer trust, distort fair market dynamics, and pose a serious threat to the integrity of digital commerce.

“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 CCPA said.

Based on the self-audit reports, the e-commerce firms can “give self-declarations that their platform is not indulging in any dark patterns”.

The self-declarations will enable a fair digital ecosystem along with building trust between consumers and e-commerce platforms, the regulatory body said.

The CCPA noted that it has also sent notices to e-commerce platforms, with instances of dark patterns that violate the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns.

Further, the Department of Consumers Affairs constituted a Joint Working Group (JWG) to “examine and undertake measures to identify violations of dark patterns on e-commerce platforms”.

The JWG comprises representatives from concerned ministries, regulators, voluntary consumer organisations, and NLUs who will then share the information with the Department of Consumer Affairs at regular intervals.

The group will also work to create awareness amongst consumers to refrain from dark patterns.

The move is part of the government’s broader strategy and ongoing efforts to strengthen consumer protection in the digital era and curb unfair practices in e-commerce and online services.

The Department of Consumer Affairs had notified the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns in 2023 and specified 13 dark patterns, namely: false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised advertisements and nagging, trick wording, saas billing, and rogue malware.

–IANS

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