E-commerce disclosure and the 2023 dark-pattern guidelines

The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, made under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, apply to all goods and services bought or sold over a digital or electronic network, including to entities outside India that systematically offer to consumers in India.

• Rule 4(2): every e-commerce entity must provide its legal name, the address of its headquarters and branches, the name and details of its website, and its customer care and grievance officer contact details.
• Rule 4(3): no unfair trade practice, whether in the course of business on the platform or otherwise.
• Rule 4(5): appoint a grievance officer, display their name, contact and designation, acknowledge every complaint within forty-eight hours and redress it within one month of receipt.
• Rule 4(6): no cancellation charge on a consumer cancelling after confirming a purchase unless the entity bears a similar charge if it cancels unilaterally.
• Rule 4(11) and 4(12): no manipulation of price to gain unreasonable profit, and no discrimination between consumers of the same class or arbitrary classification affecting their rights.
• Rule 5: marketplace e-commerce entities must obtain an undertaking from sellers on the accuracy of descriptions and display seller details, ratings, and terms of returns, refunds, exchange, warranty, delivery and grievance redressal.
• Rule 6: inventory e-commerce entities must ensure advertisements are consistent with the actual characteristics of the goods and services.

The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority on 30 November 2023, apply to all platforms systematically offering goods or services in India, advertisers and sellers. They prohibit the engagement in any dark pattern practice, and specify these:

• False urgency — falsely stating or implying scarcity or time pressure.
• Basket sneaking — adding items, services, donations or charges at checkout without consent.
• Confirm shaming — using shame, fear or guilt to nudge a purchase or action.
• Forced action — forcing a purchase, subscription or sign-up to access a feature already sought.
• Subscription trap — making cancellation difficult or hidden, or requiring payment details for a free trial that auto-charges.
• Interface interference — design that misleads or obscures the intended action.
• Bait and switch — advertising one outcome and delivering another.
• Drip pricing — revealing price elements only after the user is committed.
• Disguised advertisement — an ad presented as user content, news or editorial matter.
• Nagging — repeated, persistent interruptions unrelated to the user's action.
• Trick question — deliberate confusing language or double negatives to misdirect a response.
• SaaS billing — recurring charges through opaque means.
• Rogue malware — ransomware or scareware misrepresenting a threat to extract payment.

A dark pattern falling within the definition of an unfair trade practice or misleading advertisement under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 exposes the platform to action by the Central Consumer Protection Authority under Section 18, including directions to discontinue the practice, and to the penalties in Sections 21 and 89 for misleading advertisement.