- The Indian government’s Consumer Affairs Ministry has asked consumer-tech companies to conduct self-audits to flag any dark patterns on their sites
- Dark patterns are essentially design tactics that nudge consumers into doing something they wouldn’t otherwise do
- The last few years have seen consumer-tech companies wrestle each other to service the top 10% of the population, even as funding dries up and it’s harder for them to break even
- The government’s most recently regulatory crackdown, though welcome, needs a proper framework and benchmarks in order to be effective
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The Indian government’s patience with consumer-tech platforms using manipulative design tricks is running out.
In late May, Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi corralled the country’s top internet companies into a room, and gave them an ultimatum: conduct self-audits to identify and remove dark patterns, or face the music. The deadline was set for 5 September. In the room were companies like Zomato (now Eternal), Makemytrip, and Ola Electric, as well as global majors Google and Amazon.
Dark patterns are design tactics that trick users into actions that benefit the business more than the user. Essentially, interface nudges that nudge a little too hard.
And the tactics are the deepest on the biggest platforms.
Take Amazon India’s friendly-looking “at this price” call-to-action, explained a person familiar with how product flows are designed on large platforms. Click it, they said, and you’re met with monthly charges, hidden costs, and fine print. Or consider how it made customer service harder to reach—the “Chat with us” option quietly disappeared, replaced by a labyrinth of help pages.
And this isn’t just an Amazon problem. Entertainment-ticketing platform Bookmyshow was spotted quietly
None of this is for the consumer’s benefit.
In fact, for years, many edtechs, fintechs, and quick-commerce companies have struck a Faustian bargain: they’ve traded rapid scale in exchange for their integrity. What it boils down to is beguiling users into giving up more—more money, more data, more control. All at the cost of something more intangible: consumer trust.
The regulator Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has already issued 11
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