Govt directs all e-comm firms to self-audit and remove dark patterns

The Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Pralhad Joshi, convened a high-level stakeholder meeting on Wednesday to tackle the growing menace of dark patterns—deceptive design tactics used on websites and apps to manipulate user behavior.

The meeting brought together representatives from major e-commerce companies including Amazon, Flipkart, Zomato, Swiggy, Google, Meta and Paytm along with industry bodies like FICCI, NASSCOM and CAIT, voluntary consumer organizations and academic institutions. The aim is to eliminate manipulative digital practices and reinforce ethical conduct in India’s booming e-commerce ecosystem.

Dark patterns misleading interfaces that trick users into making unintended purchases, sharing personal data, or subscribing to unwanted services, have become a major consumer grievance. The Department of Consumer Affairs has seen a marked increase in complaints related to such practices via the National Consumer Helpline (NCH).

“Consumers today are vigilant and will not tolerate deceit. Companies must not wait for regulatory action. They must identify and eliminate dark patterns proactively,” said Minister Joshi, urging full compliance with the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, a directive that makes India the first country to formally define and regulate 13 specific dark patterns under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Minister Joshi directed all major platforms to conduct regular internal audits and integrate the guidelines into their internal governance frameworks. He emphasized that addressing dark patterns isn’t merely about legal compliance, it’s about rebuilding consumer trust.

The Ministry is also deploying tech-based solutions to empower users. Tools like the Jagriti App, Jago Grahak Jago App and Jagriti Dashboard, which is developed in collaboration with IIT-BHU to enable consumers to report dark patterns, flag suspicious websites and access safety scores of e-commerce platforms in real time. These innovations were birthed from the Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023.

Nidhi Khare, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, underscored the gravity of the issue, saying, “Dark patterns erode consumer autonomy and trust. Tackling them is central to fair digital trade.” She noted that many companies who took a "Safety Pledge" on National Consumer Day 2024 now risk breaching it by allowing deceptive interfaces to persist.

She added that consumers themselves have become frontline watchdogs. “We are getting direct reports from users flagging these patterns. It’s clear that the public is paying attention.”

Additional Secretary Bharat Harbanslal Khera highlighted that while the government supports ease of doing business, it will not come at the cost of consumer protection. The 2023 Guidelines, developed through multi-stakeholder consultations, now clearly spell out what constitutes dark patterns and how companies must address them.

“It’s now up to the platforms to act decisively,” said Anupam Mishra, Joint Secretary, who presented detailed data on the types of dark patterns and the government’s enforcement roadmap.

Read More: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi to chair stakeholder meeting on dark patterns in ecommerce