{"id":37194,"date":"2023-09-09T05:02:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-08T23:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=37194"},"modified":"2025-04-22T11:52:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T06:22:58","slug":"dark-patterns-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/dark-patterns-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark patterns &#8211; Govt releases guidelines for public consultation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What are Dark Patterns?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>How do companies use dark patterns?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>What do users stand to lose because of dark patterns?<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>News Summary: Dark patterns &#8211; Govt releases guidelines for public consultation<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Key highlights of the draft guidelines<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Why in news?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Department of Consumer Affairs has sought public comments on Draft Guidelines for <strong>Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are Dark Patterns?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Dark patterns refer to <strong>deceptive design techniques<\/strong> used in user interfaces to manipulate or deceive users into taking certain actions or making specific choices online.<\/li>\n<li>Such patterns are unethical user interface designs that deliberately make Internet experience harder or even exploit the users.<\/li>\n<li>These patterns exploit <u>cognitive biases and behavioural tendencies<\/u> to trick or mislead users, often for the benefit of the platform or business implementing them.<\/li>\n<li>These tricks can include creating a <u>false sense of urgency, making people feel bad for not doing something, forcing them to take certain actions, trapping them into subscriptions, or constantly bothering them<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How do companies use dark patterns?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Social media companies and Big Tech firms such as Apple, Amazon, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Google use dark or deceptive patterns to downgrade the user experience to their advantage.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Amazon<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It came under fire in the EU for its confusing, multi-step cancellation process for the Amazon Prime subscription.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Google-owned YouTube<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It nudges users to sign up for YouTube Premium with pop-ups, obscuring the final seconds of a video with thumbnails of other videos.\n<ul>\n<li>This is being viewed as a way of disrupting what should have been an otherwise smooth user experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>LinkedIn users often receive unsolicited, sponsored messages from influencers.<\/li>\n<li>Disabling this option is a difficult process with multiple steps that requires users to be familiar with the platform controls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What do users stand to lose because of dark patterns?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Lack of Transparency<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Dark patterns can obscure important information, making it difficult for users to fully understand the implications of their actions.<\/li>\n<li>This can lead to uninformed decision-making and potential financial or privacy risks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reduced Autonomy<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>It manipulates user behaviour, limiting their freedom of choice.<\/li>\n<li>Users may feel coerced or pressured into making decisions they wouldn&#8217;t have otherwise made, leading to buyer&#8217;s remorse or dissatisfaction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Privacy Concerns<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Some dark patterns may manipulate users into sharing more personal data than they intended or agreeing to privacy settings that compromise their confidentiality.<\/li>\n<li>This can have implications for data security and expose users to potential privacy breaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Negative User Experience<\/strong>:\n<ul>\n<li>Dark patterns often create frustrating and confusing experiences for users.<\/li>\n<li>They may feel deceived or manipulated, leading to a loss of trust in the platform or brand and a diminished overall user experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>News Summary: Dark patterns &#8211; Govt releases guidelines for public consultation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Union government has released draft guidelines to curb \u201cdark patterns\u201d used by online platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The Department of Consumer Affairs (DoCA) conducted an interactive stakeholder\u2019s consultation on \u2018Dark Patterns\u2019 in June 2023.<\/li>\n<li>After that, a taskforce was constituted to submit recommendations on identification and regulation of dark patterns.<\/li>\n<li>Based on the recommendations of this taskforce and deliberations with other stakeholders, draft guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns have been framed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Key highlights of the draft guidelines<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The objective is to clearly <u>identify and define tactics<\/u> as dark patterns so that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs can act against platforms indulging in this under <strong>Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Defines dark patterns<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The document defines dark patterns as:\n<ul>\n<li>any practices or deceptive design patterns using UI\/UX (user interface\/user experience) interactions on any platform;<\/li>\n<li>designed to mislead or trick users to do something they originally did not intend or want to do;<\/li>\n<li>by subverting or impairing the consumer autonomy, decision making or choice;<\/li>\n<li>amounting to misleading advertisement or unfair trade practice or violation of consumer rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>For instance, false urgency is a dark pattern under which the online seller makes false claims of limited stock (\u201churry, only two items left!\u201d).<\/li>\n<li>The draft guidelines <u>propose prohibitions against engaging in dark patterns<\/u>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Applicability<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The draft guidelines, once notified, shall apply to all platforms systematically offering goods or services in India, advertisers and sellers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Specifies 10 types of dark patterns<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The document specifies 10 types of dark patterns:<\/li>\n<li><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/media\/editor_images\/2023\/9\/9\/12\/41\/51\/64fc1ab7d2e0af05a27ae1bd_OI.PNG\" \/><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><strong>Q1) What is basket sneaking?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Sneaking products into users&#8217; shopping baskets is a dark pattern that tricks people into purchasing more than they intended to do. For this very reason, the European Commission illegalized this design pattern under the consumer rights directive.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q2)<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>What is confirm shaming?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Confirm shaming is a term that refers to a manipulative tactic used in user interface (UI) design or online interactions. It involves using guilt or social pressure to influence a user&#8217;s decision when presented with a choice, particularly when dealing with consent or privacy-related options. In the context of online interactions, confirm shaming typically occurs when a website or application presents a user with a choice, such as opting out of email subscriptions, declining to provide personal information, or refusing to consent to terms and conditions. Instead of simply providing a straightforward option to decline or opt-out, confirm shaming employs emotionally manipulative language or design elements to make the user feel guilty or embarrassed for choosing not to comply.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/banking-and-finance\/masatsugu-asakawa-ready-to-play-our-part-in-mdb-reforms-8929675\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Dark patterns: Govt releases guidelines for public consultation<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1955344\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>PIB<\/u><\/a><u> | <\/u><a href=\"https:\/\/consumeraffairs.nic.in\/sites\/default\/files\/file-uploads\/latestnews\/Draft%20Guidelines%20for%20Prevention%20and%20Regulation%20of%20Dark%20Patterns%202023.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><u>Ministry of Consumer Affairs<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ASEAN is a regional grouping that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its 10 members.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":37195,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-37194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}