The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed penalties on nine digital platforms, including Zepto, IndiGo, FirstCry, Physics Wallah and SpiceJet, for using "dark patterns" that misled consumers while they used their services. The government informed the Rajya Sabha that these platforms used deceptive user interface designs that influenced users into making choices they may not have intended. It also said that the Department of Consumer Affairs has strengthened measures to protect consumers from unfair practices in digital trade.

The Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, identifies and regulates 13 types of deceptive interface designs. These include false urgency, basket sneaking, subscription traps, drip pricing, confirm shaming and trick questions. The rules aim to stop online platforms from using misleading techniques that affect consumer decisions.

The government said that the CCPA issued an advisory in June 2025 asking e-commerce platforms to carry out self-audits to identify dark patterns on their platforms. After reviewing compliance, the regulator collected nearly ₹20 lakh in penalties from platforms that violated the guidelines. The information was shared with the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday.

Among the platforms penalised, Zepto Marketplace received the highest fine of ₹7 lakh. The CCPA found that the quick commerce platform displayed lower prices at first and later added handling charges and membership fees during the checkout process. The regulator said the handling charges amounted to drip pricing, while the automatic addition of membership was a case of basket sneaking. The government informed the House that Zepto has now discontinued these dark patterns.

The CCPA also took suo motu cognisance of the practices followed by digital education platform Physics Wallah and imposed a penalty of ₹5 lakh. The regulator found that a ₹10 donation to the "PW Foundation" was automatically pre-selected during the payment process. It also observed that emotionally persuasive messages encouraged users to continue with the pre-selected donation instead of removing it.

The regulator also raised concerns over Physics Wallah making users provide personal information before they could access free courses. Referring to the action taken by the company, the government told the Rajya Sabha, “The company deposited the penalty and discontinued the dark pattern.”

IndiGo was also penalised after the CCPA received complaints about confirm shaming on its mobile application. The airline had earlier displayed the opt-out message, “No I will take risk”, when users chose not to buy an add-on. After the regulator's intervention, IndiGo replaced it with the more neutral message, “No, I will not add to the trip.”

The CCPA also directed BookMyShow to remove a pre-selected ₹1 contribution to its charitable initiative, BookASmile. The regulator found that the automatic contribution amounted to basket sneaking, as users had to manually remove the donation if they did not wish to contribute.

Apart from these companies, the CCPA also imposed penalties on several other platforms. FirstCry was fined ₹2 lakh, while PharmaEasy, McAfee and SpiceJet were each fined ₹1 lakh. Coaching platform Anuj Jindal received a penalty of ₹3 lakh.

The regulator directed these platforms to stop using dark patterns that included hidden charges, forced subscriptions, misleading countdown timers and manipulative subscription renewal prompts. The government said these actions are part of ongoing efforts to improve transparency in digital services and ensure that consumers can make informed choices without being influenced by deceptive interface designs.