{"id":364288,"date":"2026-06-04T15:54:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=364288"},"modified":"2026-06-04T15:54:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:24:53","slug":"dark-patterns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dark-patterns\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Patterns"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-box-green\">\n<p><b>News: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA has imposed penalties on PhysicsWallah Limited and McAfee Software India Private Limited for using dark pattern practices that misled consumers and influenced their choices on digital platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\"><b>About Dark Patterns<\/b><\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_364289\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-364289\" style=\"width: 336px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-364289\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_4-6-2026_125040_www.moneycontrol.com_.jpeg?resize=336%2C397&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Dark Patterns\" width=\"336\" height=\"397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_4-6-2026_125040_www.moneycontrol.com_.jpeg?resize=254%2C300&amp;ssl=1 254w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_4-6-2026_125040_www.moneycontrol.com_.jpeg?resize=868%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 868w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_4-6-2026_125040_www.moneycontrol.com_.jpeg?resize=768%2C906&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot_4-6-2026_125040_www.moneycontrol.com_.jpeg?w=976&amp;ssl=1 976w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-364289\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Guidelines for the Department of Consumer Affairs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dark-patterns-explained-pointwise\/\">Dark patterns,<\/a> also known as <strong>deceptive patterns<\/strong>, <\/span>involve<b> using design and choice architecture<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to deceive, coerce, or influence consumers into making choices that are not in their best interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It encompasses a<\/span><b> wide range of manipulative practices<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Legal remedies:<\/strong> Such practices fall under the <\/span><b>category of \u201cunfair trade practices\u201d as defined in Sub-section 47 under Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Guidelines: Central Consumer Protection Authority<\/strong>, in exercise of the powers conferred by <strong>Section 18<\/strong> of the <strong>Consumer Protection Act, 2019,<\/strong> issued \u201c<strong>G<\/strong><\/span><b>uidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for <strong>prevention and regulation<\/strong> of dark patterns, <strong>listing 13 specified dark patterns identified in the e-commerce sector.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These dark patterns include<\/span><b>:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>False Urgency: <\/b>This involves <strong>c<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>reating a fake sense of scarcity, popularity, or time pressure to push users into making quick purchases<\/strong> or decisions that they might not otherwise make.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Basket Sneaking: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes<\/span> <strong>automatic addition of a donation during checkout.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><b>Confirm Shaming:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This involves <strong>emotional messaging that discouraged users from removing the donation.<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Forced Action: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This involves <strong>requiring users to share personal information before accessing courses<\/strong> advertised as free.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Nagging: <\/b>This includes <strong>r<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>epeatedly interrupting or pressuring users<\/strong> with requests, prompts, or offers to make a purchase or complete a transaction, causing annoyance or disruption.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Subscription Traps:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Under this, parties<strong> make it easy to sign up for a service but difficult to cancel,<\/strong> such as by <strong>hiding cancellation options<\/strong>, requiring unnecessary steps, or <strong>automatically charging<\/strong> users after a \u201cfree\u201d trial without clear consent.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Bait &amp; switch:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This includes <strong>advertising a service but delivering another<\/strong>, often of lower quality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Rogue Malware:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This involves <strong>malicious software that falsely claims a device is infected and pressures users to pay for fake security tools<\/strong>, which may actually install malware or cause further harm.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Disguised ads:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It is <strong>designed to look like content,<\/strong> such as news articles or user-generated content.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Interface Interference:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It involves <strong>designing the interface to emphasize certain options<\/strong> while hiding or obscuring important information, influencing users to make unintended choices.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Drip Pricing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It involves<strong> revealing additional charges, fees, or costs only later in the purchase process<\/strong> instead of showing the full price upfront.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Trick Question:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It includes <strong>using confusing wording, double negatives, or ambiguous language to mislead users<\/strong> into taking actions they did not intend.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>SaaS Billing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It involves <strong>using recurring subscription charges in a way that makes payments continue automatically<\/strong> and unobtrusively, making it difficult for users to notice, manage, or cancel them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; border-style: solid;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<h2 class=\"red-h2-box\"><b>About\u00a0 Central Consumer Protection Authority<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has been <\/span><b>constituted under Section 10(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Composition: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It consists of a<strong> Chief Commissioner and such number of other Commissioners<\/strong> as may be prescribed, to be appointed by the Central Government to exercise the powers and discharge the functions under this Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has the<\/span><b> power to inquire or investigate matters relating to violations of consumer rights or unfair trade practices suo motu, or on a complaint received<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or on a direction from the central government.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>power to make rules to provide for the qualifications for appointment, term of office, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal, and other terms and conditions of the service of the Chief Commissioner and Commissioners of the Central Authority<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is <\/span><b>bestowed upon the Central government.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also has a<\/span><b>n Investigation Wing<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that is<\/span><b> headed by a Director General.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>District Collectors<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, too<\/span><b>, have the power to investigate complaints of violations of consumer rights, u<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nfair trade practices, and false or misleading advertisements.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA has imposed penalties on PhysicsWallah Limited and McAfee Software India Private Limited for using dark pattern practices that misled consumers and influenced their choices on digital platforms. About Dark Patterns Dark patterns, also known as deceptive patterns, involve using design and choice architecture to deceive, coerce, or influence&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dark-patterns\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Dark Patterns<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1566,3127,1760,12039],"tags":[11872,3590],"class_list":["post-364288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-factly-articles","category-economy","category-polity-and-nation","category-knolls","tag-9pm-daily-factly","tag-pib","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364288\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}