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ARTICLE · 24 AUGUST 2026

Misleading Dark Patterns On Digital Platform: Consent Engineered Through Guilt

S.S. Rana & Co.
S.S. Rana & Co.
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S.S. Rana & Co.

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On June 01, 2026, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a significant order against Physicswallah Limited (hereinafter referred to as Party), the EdTech unicorn behind the pw.live platform, finding it guilty of deploying three distinct dark patterns. The matter taken up suo moto by CCPA culminated in a penalty of INR 5,00,000 and a binding direction to eliminate all dark patterns from the platform immediately.

IndiaConsumer Protection
Vikrant Rana
Vikrant Rana
Anuradha Gandhi
Anuradha Gandhi
Abhishekta Sharma
Abhishekta Sharma
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Introduction

On June 01, 2026, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) issued a significant order against Physicswallah Limited (hereinafter referred to as Party), the EdTech unicorn behind the pw.live platform, finding it guilty of deploying three distinct dark patterns. The matter taken up suo moto by CCPA culminated in a penalty of INR 5,00,000 and a binding direction to eliminate all dark patterns from the platform immediately.1

Facts of the Case

The CCPA order identified three practices on Party’s official website and phone application as the subject of the suo moto proceeding:

  1. Basket Sneaking- the Pre-Selected INR 10 donation
    The CCPA observed that the Party had pre-selected the option “Donate for PW Foundation” during the purchase process, thereby automatically adding INR 10 to the final payable amount without obtaining explicit consent from consumers.The pre-ticked donation feature remained operational from February 14. 2024 o December 24, 2025, for approximately

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