Dark Patterns are now illegal in India
The Indian government recently established guidelines to ban dark patterns in India. These guidelines are made to address underhand practices in digital design. These rules aim to protect consumers from misleading tactics encountered online.
With dark patterns banned in India, let’s dive into what these deceptive design tactics are and why the government had to step in.
What are Dark patterns?
Dark patterns are misleading tricks in website and app designs that lead users to make unintended choices, like unwanted purchases or sharing personal data.
These designs cleverly exploit psychological principles to influence user actions.
They create an environment where users often end up agreeing to things they didn’t mean to, simply because the way choices are presented makes it difficult to choose otherwise.
Here are some of the dark patterns that have been banned in India.
- False Urgency: Online sellers create a sense of urgency with claims like ‘limited time offer’ or ‘only a few left’, pushing customers to buy quickly without much thought.
2. Basket Sneaking: Additional items/services get added to your online shopping cart by the seller without your explicit approval, often leading to unexpected costs.
3. Confirm shaming: Sellers use guilt or shame, suggesting you’re making a poor choice, to convince you to subscribe to services or make purchases you didn’t initially want.
4. Forced Action: To access a desired product or service, you’re compelled to perform unrelated tasks like signing up for newsletters.
5. Subscription Trap: Unsubscribing from a service is made intentionally difficult, keeping consumers locked into payments they no longer want.
6. Interface Interference: Websites use confusing or misleading designs to trick you into making choices you wouldn’t normally make, like hiding important options.
7. Bait and Switch: You’re lured with an offer for one product or service, but are then redirected to another, often costing more.
8. Disguised Advertisement: Ads are blended in with regular content, making it hard to tell the difference and misleading you about what’s an ad and what’s not.
9. Nagging: Constant and repetitive prompts or requests, like being asked to sign up for a newsletter repeatedly, can wear you down into agreeing.
The growing concern made the govt. step in
Considering the Indian government’s decision to ban dark patterns, it’s striking to think about how widespread and serious the issue must have been.
The very fact that the government felt the need to step in suggests that a significant number of people were affected. It’s reasonable to assume that many consumers experienced financial losses due to these deceptive practices, which could range from small, unnoticed charges to larger, more significant amounts.
This move by the government wasn’t just a routine regulation; it was a response to a growing problem that had a real impact on people’s wallets and trust in digital platforms.
The intervention highlights not just the prevalence of these unethical practices but also the scale of their impact on consumers.
What does it mean for businesses?
To comply with the above guidelines, businesses would have to:
- Conduct interface audits: Audit their websites and apps to identify and remove any deceptive design elements.
- Have clear consent protocols: Establish transparent procedures for obtaining user consent, especially concerning data collection.
- Enhance data accessibility: Allow users easy access to their data, including options to edit or delete their information.
- Strengthen data security: Implement advanced security measures to prevent unauthorized data access or leaks.
- Target the audience ethically: Target audiences in a responsible manner, ensuring personal information is protected.
- Take educational initiatives: Proactively educate users about dark patterns, helping them identify and avoid such tactics.
A penalty for those who won’t comply
The Indian government has specified that penalties for violations will be levied as per these guidelines.
This framework is designed to enforce compliance among digital platforms and e-commerce businesses, ensuring they adhere to ethical practices in their user interface and marketing strategies.
Be ethical, sell ethically
The timing of these guidelines is crucial as digital commerce in India is growing rapidly. With many people using online platforms, it’s essential to protect them from these deceptive tactics.
These rules show the government’s dedication to creating a fair and user-friendly online space, highlighting the importance of consumer well-being in the digital era.
Canvs Editorial regularly brings you insightful reads on design and anything related. Check out the work we do at Canvs Club.
The Canvs Editorial team comprises of Editorial Writer and Researcher — Paridhi Agrawal, the Editor’s Desk- Aalhad Joshi and Debprotim Roy, and Content Operations- Abin Rajan. Follow Canvs on Instagram for more design-related content.
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