New Delhi, Dec 24 (PTI) Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday said his ministry is proactively addressing consumer complaints about innovative dark patterns -- deceptive design techniques
that mislead or trick users into unintended actions -- on e-commerce and digital platforms.
The consumer affairs ministry has identified 13 dark patterns, including subscription traps and nagging, in guidelines issued on November 30, 2023, to prevent and regulate such unfair trade practices.
"At times, I get an email about a new dark pattern. Daily, a new dark pattern keeps coming and we keep on handling them. They (companies that design dark patterns to trick users) also think something new in dark patterns but our department is very active," Joshi said while addressing an event organised by the Bureau of Indian Standards to commemorate National Consumer Day.
The minister congratulated Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare and her team for successfully handling such complaints.
The theme of this year's event was "efficient and speedy disposal through digital justice".
Highlighting the successful disposal of consumer cases on e-Jagriti launched in January this year, Joshi said more than 1.4 lakh consumer cases have been filed and over 1.4 lakh cases successfully disposed as of in December 2025.
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions filed over 1.19 lakh cases and disposed of more than 1.20 lakh cases. Over 4,300 cases were disposed of within five months of filing.
With hybrid video conferencing facilities, over 90,000 hearings have been conducted nationwide, ensuring accessible justice to consumers, he said.
Launched on January 1, 2025, e-Jagriti is a digital platform that allows consumers, including those in remote regions or NRIs abroad, to file complaints, make payments, participate in virtual hearings, and track cases in real time through digital alerts.
The paperless, transparent and citizen-centric grievance redressal system is now operational at the National Commission, all 36 state and UT commissions, and over 670 district consumer commissions.
Between April 2025 and December 15, 2025, the National Consumer Helpline (NCH) facilitated refunds of Rs 42.6 crore across 30 sectors by resolving over 63,800 refund-related grievances.
The helpline is available in 17 regional languages and accessible through call centres, the NCH app, email, WhatsApp and the 1915 short code.
As of December 2025, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued 452 class action notices and imposed penalties of over Rs 2.13 crore. In the coaching sector, 57 notices have been issued, with penalties exceeding Rs 1.09 crore imposed on 28 coaching institutes.
Khare, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the event, said the government invited all e-commerce entities, made them aware of the 13 basic dark patterns, and gave them three months to conduct a self-audit.
"We requested them to post it on their website and give their declaration that their websites are not employing any of the 13 dark patterns. About 26 e-commerce entities have given their self-audit that they are not using it and we are examining it. A few entities who may continue to be using it, we will start taking action," she said.
Khare added that violations of consumer rights occur where consumer choice is manipulated, information is asymmetric, there are hidden charges, or where a person is totally duped.
"All these actually involve the dark pattern because these are the patterns which are being used with algorithms or AI tools and so on," she said.
The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which replaces the 1986 Act, mandates the disposal of complaints within three months.
On the occasion, the minister unveiled an NCH dashboard with AI intervention developed by IIT Kanpur and issued the first Government Approved Test Centre (GATC) certificate by National Test House (NTH), Kolkata.
NTH signed an MoU with DRDO for joint research and advanced testing, as well as with India Post for doorstep collection of samples and delivery of test results.
Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs B L Verma, Food Processing Industries Secretary Avinash Joshi and other senior officials were present at the event. PTI LUX TRB
