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ARTICLE · 27 DECEMBER 2023

Shedding Light On Dark Pattern Regulations In India

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Dark patterns are tools that are employed by advertisers and commercial entities to influence user behaviour and decisions.

IndiaConsumer Protection
Namita Viswanath
Namita Viswanath
Sana Khan
Sana Khan
Aditya G.
Aditya G.
Himangini Mishra
Himangini Mishra
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WHAT ARE 'DARK PATTERNS'?

Dark patterns are tools that are employed by advertisers and commercial entities to influence user behaviour and decisions. Dark patterns can show up in the most mundane of tasks, such as while browsing the internet for any research, undertaking simple transactions of bill payments, placing an order on an e-commerce website, booking travel tickets online or even simply browsing through one's social media feed. Notifications or interface elements which create urgency such as "You are missing out on low prices" or tend to shame, "I want to pay extra", or enable persistent pop-up boxes which do not take no for an answer or even countdown timers for the end of an offer, are all very typical examples of 'dark patterns'.

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