On Regulating ‘Dark Patterns’ – Battling dark patterns

Source: This post on Regulating ‘Dark Patterns’ has been created based on the article “Battling dark patterns” published in “Business Standard” on 5^th December 2023.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2 Governance – Government policies and interventions.

News: The article discusses the growing concern of digital platforms employing ‘dark patterns’.

The Central Consumer Protection Agency (CCPA) has issued guidelines for the prevention and regulation of ‘dark patterns’ on the web. These guidelines will apply to all digital platforms offering goods and services in India.

Read about the Central Consumer Protection Agency (CCPA) here.

What are ‘Dark Patterns’?

Dark patterns refer to a variety of deceptive practices used to manipulate or strongly influence online consumers into making consumer decisions that might not align with their best interests.

They are designed to manipulate user behaviour by exploiting psychological vulnerabilities. These are widely recognised as unfair trade practices.

Examples: A false timer showing offer expiry, showing limited stocks, being part of mailing subscription lists that are hard to opt out of, collecting user data by evading informed consent, etc.

What are the growing concerns regarding Dark Patterns?

1. Increased Manipulation due to Technological Advances: The proliferation of dark patterns may only increase with further advances in machine learning and automation.
2. Financial Harm: Their use in the financial services industry can cause significant harm to savers and investors (for example, being lured into taking short-term high-interest credit).
3. Disproportionately harms vulnerable socio-economic groups: Certain socio-economic groups and individuals with low digital literacy are more susceptible to dark patterns.

What should be the aims of regulation of dark patterns?

1 Protecting consumers from manipulation.

2 Preventing discrimination, so that dark patterns do not increase current inequalities.

3 It is also important to ensure that regulations do not end up significantly increasing the compliance burden for firms in India’s digital economy, which has a huge potential (According to the government’s projection, the digital economy is expected to reach 20% of India’s GDP by 2026 from the current 11%).

Question for practice:

Digital literacy should be the precursor of an ever-expanding digital economy. Discuss in the context of the growing concern around ‘dark patterns’.