"Ordinary consumers are up against billions of dollars of investments that are manipulating their choices in ways unknown to them," says the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) in a new discussion document on the use of dark patterns in online advertising. ASCI is inviting public feedback on the report's recommendations to extend its self-regulatory code on misleading ads to cover dark patterns too. Submissions can be sent to contact@ascionline.in by 31st December, 2022. What is a dark pattern?: "A dark pattern is a user interface that has been crafted to trick or manipulate users into making choices that are detrimental to their interest," explains ASCI. These choices can include paying a higher amount for a product than originally disclosed, sharing data, buying expensive products over cheaper alternatives, or deciding consumption based on paid or fake reviews. Why is the use of these patterns growing?: E-commerce companies design their user interfaces to engage customers and generate more business. As e-commerce increasingly develops, the use of dark patterns has grown in "scale and sophistication", warns a new report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cited by ASCI. Companies' "complex analytical techniques, collect more personal data, and experiment with dark patterns to exploit the most effective ones," the FTC explains. Why does it matter?: While the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and existing ASCI codes specify that ads should not mislead consumers, dark patterns embedded in user interfaces end up doing just that. These techniques also undermine consumer perceptions of advertising, forcing them to be vigilant and suspicious…
