dark patterns

In order to protect consumers' interest, the government has banned use of "dark patterns" on e-commerce platforms which intend to deceive customers or manipulate their choices. A gazette notification in this regard as "Guidelines for prevention and regulation of dark patterns" was issued on November 30 by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) which is applicable to all platforms offering goods and services in India, and even advertisers and sellers.Resorting to dark patterns will amount to misleading…

In order to protect consumers' interest, the government has banned use of "dark patterns" on e-commerce platforms which intend to deceive customers or manipulate their choices. A gazette notification in this regard as "Guidelines for prevention and regulation of dark patterns" was issued on November 30 by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) which is applicable to all platforms offering goods and services in India, and even advertisers and sellers. Resorting to dark patterns will amount to misleading…

See if any of this sounds familiar:● You can't find an easy way to cancel an unwanted subscription, so you let it continue for another month — telling yourself you'll try again later. ● You feel rushed into an online purchase you regret, but there's no option to undo the transaction or demand a refund. ● You want to read an article or shop at a store online, but you're bombarded with pop-up requests for your data. There's no easy option for saying no, so you click “allow” just to get the annoying pop-up out of the…

It’s not your imagination: Airlines are piling on more fees and extra charges, driving up the cost of air travel. Across the industry, revenue from what’s known as ancillary sales—fees for selecting seats, checking bags, and buying food, to name a few—will reach a record $117.9 billion in 2023. That’s a 7.7% increase from pre-pandemic records, according to a recent study from airline consultancy firm IdeaWorks and B2B car rental company CarTrawler.As plane ticket prices have become more competitive, airlines have turned…

The government warned on Friday that strict action will be taken against online players if they do not stop the menace of 'dark patterns' - tactics used to manipulate consumer choice and nudge users to sign up for a free trial or provide personal data. Briefing media, Consumer affairs secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said: "We took a soft approach and told them on June 13 not to indulge in this. On June 28, we wrote a tough letter and asked them not to stop this, otherwise will take action". Maybe after a couple of months, the…

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA) has written a letter to top digital commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart, Nykaa, BigBasket, Reliance Retail, Swiggy, Meesho among others to stop using dark patterns for duping consumers as it is an unfair trading practice.The ministry is also in the process of framing guidelines for discouraging the usage of dark patterns, said Rohit Kumar Singh, secretary, department of consumer affairs which comes under the ministry of consumer affairs.The department has urged the industry…

Have you ever tried to buy something online only to notice, at the final checkout page, some extra item had been sneakily added into your cart? Or while booking an airline ticket you are informed “Only 2 seats left at this price” to create a sense of urgency to make an immediate decision? Known as dark patterns, these user interfaces are crafted to trick or manipulate users into making choices that are detrimental to their interest and the Indian government is looking to frame regulations to restrict the usage of dark…

Image Source : FREEPIK Google is in trouble because of it's unclear language during sign up: Know-more Google faced a backlash by the European consumer groups as they filed a new privacy complaint against the tech giant. The company has been alleged for using deceptive design, misleading choices and unclear language when consumers sign-up for a new Google account in order to encourage more extensive and invasive data processing. Contrary to its claims, the tech giant is thwarting consumers who want to better protect…