The Indian government has commenced a consultation on how to regulate - and possibly prohibit - tricky tactics called "dark patterns" designed to fool consumers as they transact online.
The nation's Department of Consumer Affairs yesterday delivered a draft guidelines [PDF] for regulation of "deceptive design patterns using UI/UX (user interface/user experience) interactions on any platform; designed to mislead or trick users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do."
Google, Amazon, and Facebook consulted on the draft guidelines, along with local e-commerce players Flipkart, RIL, Swiggy, Zomato, Ola, and Tata. All appear to have agreed that dark patterns should be prohibited, and have defined ten practices they think should be out of bounds, namely:
India is not alone in cracking down on dark patterns. The EU's Digital Market Act includes a ban on the same sneaky tricks. Some US states, including California, have done likewise.
India's proposed ban will therefore not be unusual in a global context. But it will have the added weight of having been developed in consultation with global giants like Amazon and Google. And if those companies can stop using dark patterns in the world's most populous nation, with its 22 official languages, excuses for letting them appear elsewhere will be harder to find. ®
https://www.theregister.com//2023/09/08/india_dark_pattern_prohibition_draft/
Created by Tan KW | Aug 02, 2024
Created by Tan KW | Aug 02, 2024
Created by Tan KW | Aug 02, 2024
Created by Tan KW | Aug 02, 2024
Created by Tan KW | Aug 02, 2024
Created by Tan KW | Aug 02, 2024