Pre-cum-Mains GS Foundation Program for UPSC 2026 | Starting from 5th Dec. 2024 Click Here for more information
According to a recently released report by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and product design studio Parallel, many top Indian apps have been found to employ dark patterns/deceptive patterns.
Amid a rise in online shopping and an increase in the number of internet users, which is expected to touch 900 million by 2025, the issue of dark pattern has caught the attention of the government. Department of consumer Affairs notified the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns 2023, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, for regulation of these deceptive patterns.
Despite the government guidelines and regulation efforts, dark patterns continue to endanger consumer rights in the digital landscape.
What are Dark Patterns? What are the different types of Dark Patterns?
According to ASCI definition, Dark patterns are business practices employing elements of digital choice architecture, in particular in online user interfaces, that subvert or impair consumer autonomy, decision making or choice.
Dark patterns are also called deceptive patterns. These patterns are used for intentionally manipulating or misleading users to make certain choices or perform specific actions that may not be in their best interest.
These unethical strategies are designed to exploit certain cognitive and behavioral biases to persuade users into purchasing goods and services they would typically not pay for. They downgrade the user experience to benefit the company implementing it.
| Harry Brignull coined the term ‘dark pattern’ in 2010 to describe deceptive strategies used by websites or apps to deceive users. |
What are the different types of dark patterns identified by Consumer Affairs Ministry?
The Consumer Affairs Ministry has identified 10 types of dark patterns. These are explained below-
| False Urgency | Misleading users into immediate actions by creating a false sense of urgency or scarcity, such as- a. Falsely inflating the popularity of a product or service. b. Misrepresenting the availability of a product or service as more limited than it is. |
| Basket Sneaking | Inclusion of additional items such as products, services, payments to charity/donation at the time of checkout from a platform, without the consent of the user. |
| Confirm Shaming | It involves guilt as a way to make consumers obey. It involves criticizing or attacking consumers for not conforming to a particular belief or viewpoint. |
| Forced Action | This involves forcing consumers into taking an action they may not want to take, such as signing up for a service to access content. |
| Subscription Traps | This tactic makes it easy for consumers to sign up for a service but difficult for them to cancel it. It is often done by hiding the cancellation option, or requiring complex-multiple steps, or authorization for auto debits for availing a free subscription. |
| Interface Interference | A design element that manipulates the user interface in ways that (a) highlights certain specific information; and (b) obscures other relevant information relative to the other information. For ex- Highlighting certain parts with constrasting colours, which misdirects a user from taking an action desired by her. |
| Bait and Switch | This involves advertising one product or service but delivering another product, often of lower quality. |
| Drip Pricing | It is a deceptive practice where- a. Price details are hidden or revealed subtly during the user experience; b. The final price is disclosed only after purchase, charging more than shown at checkout; c. A product or service is advertised as free without clearly stating that continued use requires in-app purchases; d. Users are blocked from accessing a paid service unless they make an additional purchase. |
| Disguised advertisement | A practice of posing, masking advertisements as other types of content such as user generated content or new articles or false advertisements. |
| Nagging | Overload of requests, information, options, or interruptions; unrelated to the intended purchase of goods or services, which disrupts the intended transaction. |
Some examples of prominent companies using Dark Patterns
Amazon- Amazon came under fire in the European Union for its confusing, multi-step cancelling process (subscription trap) in Amazon Prime subscription. However, in 2022, Amazon made its cancellation process easier for online customers in European countries.
YouTube- YouTube nags users to sign up for YouTube Premium with pop-ups (nagging).
Indigo airlines- Indigo airlines have been found to be creating false urgency in booking of seats from their app, and Interface interference ( the option to skip is placed in the top right corner and displayed in a tiny font).
What are the concerns with dark patterns?
1. Harm to consumer autonomy- These compromise consumers’ personal autonomy as they lead consumers to make choices they may not otherwise have made. These deceptive patterns often provide the illusion of control rather than actual control to consumer.
2. Financial loss to the consumer- Deceptive patterns such as basket sneaking, drip pricing or false urgency, lead to financial losses for the consumers, as these lead to more spending than their intended expenditure.
3. Harm to customer Data Privacy- Privacy-intrusive deceptive patterns like nagging and confirm shaming, force consumers into accepting privacy-intrusive settings. Consequently, consumers unintentionally disclose more personal data than intended. This potentially exposes them to additional risks and violates their right to privacy (Article 21).
4. Psychological harm and time loss- These patterns cause psychological harm like emotional distress, feelings of shame and frustration.
5. Limits User-Centric Innovation- Reliance on deceptive patterns for short-term gains, stifles innovation in user-centric design. Businesses start prioritizing deceptive practices over creating genuinely valuable and user-friendly products. For ex- False urgency practice in seat booking started gaining prominence in Indian airlines industry.
6. Social Backlash and brand erosion- These deceptive patterns lead to negative publicity, especially in the age of social media where users can share their experiences widely. Public backlash can damage a company’s brand image.
7. Distorted competition- Firms employing dark patterns obtain a competitive advantage over firms that do not employ these patterns, without offering better quality goods or services. For ex- Generation of higher revenue through basket sneaking, subscription traps etc.
What intiatives have been taken for regulation of dark patterns?
Initiatives in major countries
Recently, regulators in jurisdictions such as the European Union, USA and UK have acted against deceptive patterns.
| EU | In 2022, the European Data Protection Board released guidelines that gave designers and users of social media platforms practical guidance, on how to spot and avoid dark patterns that are in violation of General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws. |
| US | In 2021, California passed amendments to the California Consumer Privacy Act, banning dark patterns that made it difficult for consumers to exercise legal rights, like opting out of the sale of their data. |
| UK | The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the U.K. has listed different pressure-selling techniques (false urgency) that it believes violate consumer protection laws and for which actions will be taken. |
India’s initiative
| Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns (2023) | These guidelines aim at preventing and regulating the deceptive patterns under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. These guidelines include a list of identified dark patterns in user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) is responsible for enforcing these guidelines. |
| Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Guidelines | The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), an industry body, has also come up with guidelines against the use of deceptive patterns. |
What are the challenges in regulation of dark patterns?
1. Lack of Specific Regulations- Most countries currently lack specific laws targeting dark patterns, and instead, existing consumer protection and data protection laws are applied for deceptive pattern regulation.
2. Complexity of Legal Definitions- Determination what constitutes a dark pattern is often complex, as it is at times challenging to determine the threshold at which the pattern crosses from controversial marketing technique to illegal practice.
3. Evolving Nature- The tactics used in dark patterns are continually evolving. This makes it difficult for regulatory frameworks to keep pace, and deal with the menace of these deceptive patterns. Further, there are insufficient case laws available for the regulators, to draw upon previous rulings and guide enforcement actions.
4. Enforcement Challenges- Regulatory bodies lack the resources to monitor and address dark patterns effectively.
5. Low Consumer Awareness and Reporting- There is low consumer awareness regarding the menace of dark patterns, which leads to underreporting of incidents.
| Read More- On Regulating ‘Dark Patterns’ – Battling dark patterns |
What Should be the Way Forward?
1. Empowering users- User must be empowered to deal with dark patterns, which will enhance their ability to avoid being deceived.
a. Equipping them with tools and resources to make informed choices- Use of browser extensions, apps or plugins that detect and block dark patterns.
b. Encouragement for reporting of cases- Users should be encouraged to report cases of dark patterns they encounter. Clear channels must be provided to users to provide feedback and report manipulative practices.
2. Industry self-regulation- Online platforms should establish ethical design guidelines that discourage the use of dark patterns. For ex- Encouraging responsible design practices and conducting independent audits to identify and rectify dark pattern issues.
3. Conscious score and ethical design- The designers of the apps must employ ethical design practices and provide a ‘conscious score’ to their apps, to avoid dark patterns.
4. Streamlining enforcement- The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) must be provided adequate financial and technical resources, to deal with the cases of dark patterns.
| Read More- The HinduBusinessline UPSC Syllabus- GS 3- Advancements in the field of IT |
Discover more from Free UPSC IAS Preparation For Aspirants
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
