Guidelines soon to deal with the menace of dark pattern, know what is it
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The task force constituted to suggest ways to deal with the menace of online dark patterns has submitted its report. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is considering this. ‘Dark patterns’ are tactics used to trick people online or manipulate their choices. This task force was formed on 28 June. It submitted the draft guidelines to the nodal consumer affairs ministry on 14 August.
A senior government official said, the ministry is looking into the draft guidelines and soon information will be given in this regard. In the draft, the task force has clearly defined dark patterns that are against consumer interest and should not be used by online forums. In this, different types of dark patterns are also classified which are used on different e-forums.
Representatives from Amazon, Flipkart, Google, Meta, Ola Cabs, Swiggy, Zomato, Shiprocket, Go-MMT and NASSCOM are part of the task force. Everyone has finalized the draft after detailed discussion. The official said, the entire industry is together to deal with this problem. Right now ‘dark patterns’ appear as deceptive ads.
What is dark pattern?
Dark patterns are design elements that intentionally trick website visitors into making obscure, misleading, coercive and/or unintentionally harmful choices. Dark patterns can be found in a wide variety of sites and are used by a wide variety of organizations. They are in the form of confusingly labeled buttons, options that are difficult to undo, and graphical elements such as color and shading that direct users’ attention toward or away from certain options.
Given the ubiquity of online subscriptions and free trials for all kinds of products and services, dark patterns in subscriptions are a common example of this type of design choice. This type of dark pattern can make it difficult for a user to unsubscribe, or it can automatically convert a free trial to a paid subscription.
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