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Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy among 26 firms saying they comply with dark pattern rules
In June this year, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued an advisory directing all e-commerce platforms to ensure they do not engage in unfair or deceptive trade practices that fall under dark patterns.
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Twenty-six companies have voluntarily informed the Department of Consumer Affairs that they have completed self-audits and are fully compliant with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023. These companies stated that their platforms are free from manipulative user-interface designs and do not deploy dark patterns to mislead consumers.
The list of compliant companies includes: Page Industries (Jockey, Speedo), William Penn (Sheaffer, Lapis Bard), PharmEasy, Zepto, Curaden India (Curaprox), Duroflex, Flipkart, Myntra, Cleartrip, Walmart India, MakeMyTrip, BigBasket, Tira Beauty, JioMart, Reliance Jewels, Ajio, Reliance Digital, Netmeds, Hamleys, MilBasket, Swiggy, Tata 1mg, Zomato, Blinkit, Ixigo and Meesho.
In June this year, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued an advisory directing all e-commerce platforms to ensure they do not engage in unfair or deceptive trade practices that fall under dark patterns. Platforms were instructed to conduct a self-audit within three months and submit a declaration confirming that their interfaces do not deploy such practices.
The ministry has identified 13 dark patterns under the guidelines. These include false urgency, basket sneaking, confirm shaming, forced action, subscription traps, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised advertisements, nagging, trick wording, SaaS billing and rogue malware.
"We have also ensured that we are dark-pattern free. All 13 dark patterns identified by the consumer affairs ministry are absent on our platform," said Meesho in a statement.
"Blinkit has carried out an internal assessment of its platform in line with the advisory and the guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023 ("Guidelines") on a best-efforts basis," Blinkit mentioned.
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