The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties on nine digital platforms for using 'dark patterns' - deceptive design practices that manipulate users into making choices they might not otherwise make. According to reports from Business Standard, the action was disclosed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The regulator has intensified enforcement against companies violating the Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, which identify 13 types of deceptive interface designs including false urgency, basket sneaking, drip pricing, subscription traps, and confirm shaming. As per Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution B L Verma, the CCPA was established under Section 10(1) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to regulate matters relating to violation of consumer rights, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements.
Zepto Marketplace received the highest penalty of ₹7 lakh after the CCPA found that additional handling charges and membership fees were added during the checkout process. According to the government, the platform displayed lower prices initially but added handling charges and Zepto Pass membership fees at the checkout stage. The CCPA held that adding charges only during checkout amounted to 'drip pricing', while automatically including the membership fee without the user's consent was a case of 'basket sneaking'. Physics Wallah was fined ₹5 lakh after taking suo motu cognisance of its platform, with the regulator finding that a ₹10 donation to the PW Foundation was automatically selected during checkout, while emotionally persuasive messages encouraged users to retain the donation. The company has since discontinued these practices and was directed to modify its interface. IndiGo was fined after the regulator acted on complaints over the use of 'confirm shaming' on its mobile application, with the airline replacing the message 'No I will take risk' with the neutral wording, 'No, I will not add to the trip'. BookMyShow was similarly directed to remove a pre-ticked ₹1 contribution to its BookASmile initiative after the regulator identified it as a case of basket sneaking, with the platform now giving consumers the choice to decide whether they wished to make the contribution.
The CCPA also imposed penalties on FirstCry (₹2 lakh), PharmaEasy (₹1 lakh), McAfee (₹1 lakh), SpiceJet (₹1 lakh), and coaching platform Anuj Jindal (₹3 lakh). According to the government's statement to Parliament, these companies were asked to discontinue dark patterns such as hidden charges, forced subscriptions, misleading countdown timers and manipulative prompts related to subscription renewals. FirstCry was fined after the regulator found that it displayed prices as inclusive of taxes but charged additional GST during checkout, with the company since modifying its pricing display to display final tax-inclusive prices upfront. PharmaEasy was penalised for automatically adding its PLUS membership to customers' carts without consent, while SpiceJet was fined after its website used pre-ticked consent boxes for its loyalty programme and promotional communications without active and informed action. McAfee was fined for using subscription renewal prompts that lacked a neutral opt-out option, with both companies discontinuing the practices following the regulator's intervention.
The government informed Parliament that the regulator has so far collected around ₹20 lakh in penalties from companies found violating the guidelines. According to a report by Datum Intelligence, Indian online shoppers lose an estimated ₹25,000 crore to ₹28,000 crore every year due to dark patterns. The National Consumer Helpline received 308 complaints related to dark patterns between December 2023 and March 2026, with complaints received through the portal being taken up with concerned companies for redressal. The Department of Consumer Affairs added that it continues to run nationwide consumer awareness campaigns under the 'Jago Grahak Jago' initiative and has undertaken digital, physical and multilingual outreach programmes to educate consumers about misleading online practices and their rights.
According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, the guidelines are aimed at protecting consumers from unfair trade practices and misleading digital interfaces. Consumers facing basket sneaking or drip pricing can report through the National Consumer Helpline (1915) or via the UMANG app/consumerhelpline.gov.in, which attempts conciliation with platforms and escalates unresolved issues to the CCPA. Complaints can also be lodged through the Jagriti portal/app for CCPA's attention, with consumers preserving screenshots of listed prices, final checkout pages, and order IDs as key evidence. In June 2025, the CCPA asked e-commerce platforms to carry out self-audits to identify and remove dark patterns from their services. The study titled 'Dark Patterns in India's Online Marketplaces' estimates that nearly 88% of the country's 304 million online shoppers lose between ₹78 and ₹87 every month due to these practices. In a significant development, in June 2026, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) prohibited banks and lenders from using dark patterns across websites, mobile applications and other sales channels. The RBI's new rules mandate explicit customer consent, clearer disclosures and periodic audits of digital interfaces, with implementation scheduled to begin in 2027.
