E-commerce websites can’t trick you anymore when you buy things. The government made rules to protect people.
They stopped the use of “dark patterns” on these websites. These patterns trick customers and make them choose things they don’t want.
The government made guidelines for this, and it applies to all companies in India.
If companies break these rules, they will get punished. Using dark patterns is like lying to customers or being unfair. The punishment will follow the Consumer Protection Act.
The Consumer Affairs Secretary, Rohit Kumar Singh, said that in online shopping, companies use dark patterns to fool customers.
These guidelines will make it clear for everyone – buyers, sellers, and regulators – about what is right and wrong in business.
But what is a dark pattern? It’s a tricky design or practice on a website that tries to fool users.
For example, ‘basket sneaking’ adds extra things to your cart without asking. It makes you pay more without knowing.
Another one is “forced action,” where the website makes you do things you don’t want, like buying extra stuff or giving personal information.
The government listed 13 dark patterns to help the industry follow the rules. They first had 10, but after talking to people, they added three more.
