Govt asks e-comm firms for self-regulatory framework to end 'dark patterns'

The government has taken a serious note of 'dark patterns' and asked e-commerce firms to create a self-regulatory framework to stop such practices, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Singh on Tuesday said. The e-commerce sector has the largest contribution to dark patterns, and the framework will be created in the next two months, Singh told reporters here after a stakeholder meeting. Dark patterns refer to practices which deliberately exploit the consumers on the internet, like adding items to a shopping cart even though a user has not opted for it, changing the price of a product at the time of checking out or even creating a false sense of urgency to advance a buying decision. Singh, who was present in the over two and half hour meet here, said he has asked the e-commerce players like Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy and Zomato in association with the Advertising Standards Council of India and some law firms to create a self-regulatory framework to help curb such practices. He said educat

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