When dark patterns become default

<p>The Indian government is losing patience with consumer-tech platforms using <em>dark patterns </em>or<em> </em>manipulative design tricks.</p><p>In late May 2024, Consumer Affairs Minister, Pralhad Joshi, gathered the country’s biggest internet companies, Amazon, Google, Zomato, Ola Electric, etc to give them an ultimatum: clean up your user interfaces by September 5 or face the consequences.</p><p>From hidden fees on Amazon to guilt-inducing pop-ups on Indigo, these tactics push users into spending more money, sharing more data, or giving up more control, often without realising it. </p><p>And they’re deeply baked into how these companies grow, making them hard to remove without hurting the bottom line.</p><p>Tune in.</p><p><strong><em>Daybreak is produced from the newsroom of The Ken, India’s first subscriber-only business news platform. </em></strong><a href="https://the-ken.com/pricing/"><strong><em>Subscribe</em></strong></a><strong><em> for more exclusive, deeply-reported, and analytical business stories.</em></strong></p>