Digital Dark Patterns: Ecom Compliance Marks Significant Milestone, But Challenges Persist

As many as 26 high profile ecommerce companies such as Zomato, BlinkIt, Walmart, Makemytrip, Zepto, Ajio, and JioMart have self-declared with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution that they are now in compliance with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

According to the Ministry, these platforms either conducted self-audits or through third-party audits which aimed to identify, assess and block the presence of such patterns. These 26 companies in their declaration have said their platforms are now free from dark patterns and no longer deploy any designs aimed at manipulating.

"The proactive industry-wide compliance demonstrates a strong commitment towards consumer transparency, fair trade practices, and ethical digital ecosystems. This voluntary alignment underscores the fact that consumer protection and business growth can go hand-in-hand, strengthening brand trust and long-term credibility," the Ministry said in a release.

The Ministry said the self-declaration marks a significant milestone in India's efforts to curb deceptive online design practices that mislead or manipulate consumers.

Dark Patterns: What it is and why it's problematic

Transparency has remained a major concern even as India's digital economy has grown in size to an estimated worth USD 402 billion. The digital economy is being driven by a variety of sectors such as ecommerce, quick commerce, fintech and much more.

The growth story, however, has been marred by the controversies relating to 'dark patterns' deployed by several internet companies.

Dark pattern in this context is essentially aimed at subverting a consumer's autonomy and informed decisions, causing the customer to pay more than the price they see. It is also tricking users into giving away more personal data than needed or simply making them sign up or pay for something.

Over the last couple of years, a lot of companies have been found practicing some of these dark patterns.

Earlier this year, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued notices to Ola and Uber, the two major online ride hailing platforms, for unfair trade practices and violation of consumer rights.

The notice also mentioned "lack of any information on the algorithm or method used by the company to charge different fares for the same route from two individuals" as well as "inclusion of charges for add-on services by pre-ticked boxes for including add-on services without obtaining consent by explicit and affirmative action before each ride."

The government had notified and prohibited as many as 13 dark patterns such as false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription trap, interface interference under the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, (notified on 30 November 2023).

In June this year, the CCPA issued an advisory to all ecommerce platforms and online service providers to conduct a self-audit within three months to detect and eliminate dark patterns.

Is the self-declaration good enough?

LocalCircles cofounder Sachin Taparia, who previously published detailed reports on dark patterns used by different companies across verticals, said that 21 of 26 platforms which claimed themselves to be dark pattern free have not fully complied.

"Unfortunately, to show that there is momentum in dark pattern resolution the CCPA is not even cross checking the self-declaration and audit submissions. It is a loss for the consumers," Taparia noted.

"All the platforms have to do is have their own users/consumers test different transactional journeys to know where the gaps are. The government has to have a functional check and balance mechanism in place which is totally missing," he said.

The ministry in its release highlighted that the CCPA will continue to keep a watch on those violating the norms.

"Through the National Consumer Helpline (NCH), social media campaigns, informative videos, and outreach programmes, consumers have been educated about identifying dark patterns and reporting them. Such complaints are being systematically addressed, and enforcement action is being contemplated wherever necessary. The CCPA has reaffirmed that it is maintaining a close watch on potential violations and will not hesitate to act against errant platforms," the ministry added.

What's next?

The first batch of 26 companies, as mentioned above, includes several big names: Zomato, Zepto, Reliance Digital, PharmEasy, and more. This is likely to pave the way for other and newer players to comply with the norms. However, it's important to note that we are yet to see the implementation of these in the longer run. Moreover, dark patterns exist across verticals and beyond e-commerce.

According to a LocalCircles study, dark patterns exist in sectors like edtech, OTTs, broadband, train ticketing, and online insurance, among others. The study also disclosed that out of over 300 platforms in India across over 30 sectors, just 3% are free of dark patterns.

Therefore, it's hard to conclude that the entire ecosystem has gone dark pattern-free at the moment. Also, deployment of manipulative designs continues on a large scale. However, a sustained enforcement of the guidelines by the CCPA and periodic verification from trusted parties will play a critical role in consumer protection, ultimately helping brands develop deeper trust with customers as well as investors in the longer run.