The Centre has asked e-commerce platforms to conduct regular internal audits to identify and eliminate dark patterns on their platforms. Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, after a high-level stakeholders meeting Wednesday, said, “Companies must not wait for the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) to intervene. They should proactively recognize and remove these deceptive practices before notices are issued. This is not regulatory compliance: it’s about building trust with your consumers.”
The meeting was attended by Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare, who also heads the CCPA, and representatives of major e-commerce companies, including Airbnb, Amazon, , Zepto, Ola Electric, Digital, Adidas India, and . The representatives of major industry associations and Voluntary Consumer Organisations and National Law Universities, also attended the meeting.
Dark patterns are tactics used by online platforms to mislead customers and prevent them from making the right choices. On December 1, 2023, the CCPA issued guidelines for the “prevention and regulation” of dark patterns.
