The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has directed e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits within three months to identify and eliminate “dark patterns”, deceptive design practices that mislead consumers into unintended actions.
The Consumer Affairs Ministry on Saturday (June 7, 2025) said all e-commerce platforms must examine their interfaces for practices that undermine consumer choice or constitute unfair trade practices.
“All e-commerce platforms have been advised to conduct self-audits to identify dark patterns within 3 months of the issue of the advisory and take necessary steps to ensure that their platforms are free from such dark patterns,” the Ministry said in a statement.
Based on their audit findings, platforms are encouraged to provide self-declarations confirming their sites are free from deceptive practices.
The CCPA said these declarations would help build consumer trust and create a fairer digital marketplace.
