The government announced on Thursday that 26 of the country's largest e-commerce companies have self-declared that they do not use any dark patterns on their platforms. Dark patterns are deceptive design techniques that are intended to trick consumers into making incorrect decisions or engaging in unwanted actions. They are considered a form of unfair trade practice. To ensure safer online shopping, the government is continuously working to curb such deceptive practices. Twenty-six companies, including Zepto, Zomato, Swiggy, JioMart, and BigBasket, have submitted their self-declaration reports under the Guidelines for the Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023.

The Department of Consumer Affairs provided this information in a statement. Dark patterns include designs that mislead or influence consumers into making decisions against their interests. These include methods such as drip pricing, hidden advertising, false urgency, and bait-and-switch. The department stated that these companies' self-declaration represents a major step towards strengthening consumer protections in the digital marketplace. The companies conducted internal and third-party audits to identify and remove all such deceptive practices from their platforms.

The department stated that "all 26 companies have stated that their platforms are completely free of dark patterns and do not use any deceptive user interfaces." The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) hopes this will inspire other companies to follow similar self-regulation. The Dark Patterns Rules 2023 prohibit a total of 13 deceptive techniques, including false urgency, basket sneaking, confirmation shaming, forced action, subscription traps, interface interference, bait and switch, drip pricing, disguised ads, nagging, trick wording, SaaS billing, and rogue malware.

Major companies that have stated that their platforms are free of dark patterns are:

PharmEasy
Zepto Marketplace
Flipkart
Myntra
Walmart India
MakeMyTrip
BigBasket
JioMart

Companies that have audited and confirmed the removal of dark patterns are:

Zomato
Swiggy
Blinkit
Page Industries
William Penn
Cleartrip
Reliance Jewels
Reliance Digital
Netmeds
Tata 1mg
Meesho
Ixigo
Milbasket
Hamleys
Agio
Tira Beauty
Duroflex
Cureden India

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we have made modifications for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.