CCPA Issues Advisory to Crack Down Dark Patterns

Central Consumer Protection Authority. (CCPA) have called E-Commerce platforms to prevent the spread of Dark Patterns. The regulatory authority under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has issued advisory against the deceptive designs and tactics used by websites and apps to manipulate consumers in deceptive and unfair trade.

Notified to conduct self-audits, E-Commerce platforms are informed to identify dark patterns within 3 months of the issue of the advisory following necessary steps to ensure platforms are free from such dark patterns.

What are Dark Patterns?

CCPA has encountered and further issued notices in cases violating the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, aimed to prevent consumers from deceptive UI/UX strategies by forbidding practices that trick them into unintended actions. 

In order to boost sales, mine data and make unsubscribing difficult platforms incorporate patterns to exploit cognitive biases. The sole intent behind this is to benefit the platform by persuading users to make unintended choices. Some prominent ways to deceive users are-

• Hiding extra tax until checkout.

• Automatically adding items to the cart to increase average order value.

• Charging after free trials without proper warning.

• Persuasion through impulsive buying and misleading advertisements.

• Maintaining ambiguous language to initiate unintentional agreement or consent.

According to an article of The Times of India, published on May 28, 2025, eleven companies including Zepto, Rapido, Uber and Ola were notified for deploying dark patterns to influence consumer’s decision making. Rupee 1 addition to per ticket for ‘BookASmile’ initiative by BookMyShow without a prior consent from the consumer initially brought such concerns around transparency and voluntariness of such contributions to light.

Why do we need it? 

To crack down on Dark Patterns and further inform, warn and if necessary penalize E-Commerce platforms has been a pressing issue in many countries, especially EU and USA. The EU keeps a check on this with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), while US through Section 5 of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines holds companies accountable for their misleading and manipulation. 

This itself makes it evident that India should also regulate and prevent use of dark patterns for ethical, legal, and consumer protection reasons such as:

• To prevent erosion of public trust In Digital Platforms.

• To protect vulnerable users (elderly, digitally less-literate) at risk.

• To Safeguard interest of enterprises aligning with ethical practices.

• To eliminate digital fatigue, impulse purchases, and addictive behavior in.

E-Commerce are advised by CCPA to refrain from deploying deceptive design interfaces that mislead consumers or manipulate their decision-making and hampering the enahncemennt of India's E-commerce Ecosystem. 

Joint Working Committee-

A Joint Working Group (JWG) has been constituted by the Department of Consumers Affairs composed of representatives from concerned Ministries, regulators, Voluntary Consumer Organisations and NLUs. This JWG will analyze and undertake necessary measures to identify violations and share the information with the Department of Consumer Affairs on regular intervals. Suggesting appropriate awareness programmes for creating awareness amongst the consumers will fall under the ambit of this  working group.

Specified thirteen Dark Patterns by Department of Consumers Affairs -

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 Malwares.