India bans dark patterns

❓️ What it is - Dark patterns are dirty ways to push customers into buying something, often done by being manipulative and deceptive.

Here are some examples of these:

• ⏱️ Fake countdowns for a sense of urgency (these usually reset without anything happening)

• ✅ Checkboxes that are automatically ticked, even if you never clicked it in the first place

• 📦️ Confirm shaming like Amazon’s “No thanks, I don’t want faster shipping” option for Prime

• ✉️ Roach models where sign ups are easy but unsubscribing is harder

⚖️ India’s ban hammer - Under the order of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), the Indian government has banned dark patterns which will affect all platforms, all goods and services and all advertisers doing them. Penalties will be given for doing even 1 of the 13 patterns identified.