SC: Magistrates Should Not Record Prosecution Evidence in Sessions-Triable Cases  ||  Supreme Court Lays Down Guidelines on Using ITRs to Assess Motor Accident Victims' Income  ||  Supreme Court: Citing AI-Generated Fake Precedents Amounts to Advocate Misconduct  ||  Bombay HC: Horse-Trading Rampant in Maharashtra, FIRs 'Washed' After Switching Sides  ||  Tripura High Court: Senior Citizens Cannot be Penalised For Failing to Follow Cases Online  ||  Delhi High Court: Parent Cannot Gain Advantage by Keeping a Child Against a Foreign Court Order  ||  Allahabad HC: Places of Worship Act Bars Conversion of Religious Character, Not State Acquisition  ||  Jharkhand HC: Single Instance of Mother-In-Law Abusing Daughter-In-Law Does Not Amount to Cruelty  ||  Madras High Court: No Appeal Lies Against E-Court Status or Adjournment Orders  ||  Chhattisgarh HC: Judicial Officer Promotion Cannot be Denied on Complaint Without Disciplinary Action    

Central Consumer Protection Authority issues ‘Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023’ - (08 Dec 2023)

Consumer

The Central Consumer Protection Authority, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, has issued “Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023” on 30th November, 2023 for prevention and regulation of dark patterns listing 13 specified dark patterns. To safeguard consumers from unfair trade practices in e-commerce, the Department of Consumer Affairs has also notified the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. These rules outline the responsibilities of e-commerce entities and specify the liabilities of marketplace and inventory e-commerce entities, including provisions for customer grievance redressal.

Dark patterns involve using design and choice architecture to deceive, coerce, or influence consumers into making choices that are not in their best interest. Dark patterns encompass a wide range of manipulative practices such as drip pricing, disguised advertisement, bait and switch, false urgency etc. Such practices fall under the category of "unfair trade practices" as defined under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

The CCPA has notified the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 on 9th June, 2022. These guidelines provide for; (a) conditions for an advertisement to be non-misleading and valid; (b) certain stipulations in respect of bait advertisements and free claim advertisements; and (c) duties of manufacturer, service provider, advertiser and advertising agency. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has notified framework on ‘Online Consumer Reviews — Principles and Requirements for their Collection, Moderation and Publication’ for safeguarding and protecting consumer interest from fake and deceptive reviews in e-commerce. The standards are voluntary and are applicable to every online platform which publishes consumer reviews. The guiding principles of the standard are integrity, accuracy, privacy, security, transparency, accessibility and responsiveness.

Tags : GUIDELINES   ISSUANCE   DARK PATTERNS  

Share :        

Disclaimer | Copyright 2026 - All Rights Reserved