Unable to find applicable guidelines while advertising sale of goods or services in India ?

The answers are available in the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements launched by Central Consumer Protection Authority on June 09, 2022.

-

If you saw a misleading advertisement, then are you guilty ? No, all compliance to provision of Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements is adhered to by manufacturer, service provider or trader and advertising agency or endorser.

-

Is a disclaimer mandatory in an advertisement ?

No. But a disclaimer in an advertisement provides legal protection, clarify information, and set expectations between advertisers and consumers.

-

What are guidelines for a legal disclaimer in an advertisement ? Advertisement and disclaimer should be in same language, same font, that is clear, prominent and legible to be clearly visible to a normally-sighted person reading the marketing communication, from a reasonable distance and at a reasonable speed.

-

Where to present a disclaimer in an voice over advertisement ? If the claim is presented as voice over, the disclaimer shall be displayed in sync with the voice over and at the same speed as that of original claim made in the advertisement;

-

What is Bait advertising ? Bait advertisements are that entice consumers to purchase without a reasonable prospect of selling such advertised goods or services at the price offered;

Baid advertisements mislead consumers about the market conditions or the lack of their availability to induce consumers to make purchase at conditions less favourable than normal market conditions.

-

Is a surrogate advertising permitted under the guidelines ? No surrogate advertisement or indirect advertisement shall be made for goods or services whose advertising is otherwise prohibited or restricted by law.

-

Is there an restrictions on a junk foods advertisement ?

Yes, the guidelines expressly restricts junk foods to be advertised during a program meant for children or on a channel meant exclusively for children.

-

Is advertisements prohibited only under this guidelines ?

No, advertisements are prohibited under other law also. These guidelines are in addition to other prohibitions under other specific laws

-

Is advertisement guidelines has overriding provisions under special laws ?

No, provisions of the Press Council Act, 1978 and the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 or the rules under other laws shall be in addition to and not in derogation of these guidelines.

-

How to identify a misleading advertisement ? Advertisement is misleading if that has wrong representation, or does not complies with the provisions contained in any other sector specific law, or mislead consumers by exaggerating accuracy, scientific validity or performance of advertised item etc

-

Is all misleading advertisement prosecutable ?

No, occasionally if any unintentionally errors occurs containing representation that holds true by a typical specimen advertised; or product failures is within an acceptable limits; or advertiser has taken immediate action to make good the deficiency.

Feeling lost or tricked by a favourite website or apps?

The Indian Government has issued a notification notifying dark patterns to protect consumers.

But what are Dark Patterns?

It is a tricky patterns designed by apps or websites to manipulate its consumer !

Let's learn a few different type of Dark Patterns:

1. Felt a fear of losing your purchase due to time or limited availability ? A false pressure created on the consumer is called “False Urgency” and is a form of dark pattern notified by department of consumer affairs.

2. Total purchase value going higher, unidentified, at checkout ? That's Basket Sneaking form of dark pattern. Without selection a service is tagged to cart at last second.

3. A phrase to embarrasse or feel ashamed while transacting that resulting in buying? That's Confirm Shaming form of dark pattern. Using a adverse negative phrases to force a purchase on buyer.

4. Observing restriction to complete a purchase, unless opt for other item or buy unrelated things or seeking unnecessary details?That's Forced action form of dark pattern. User is compel to buy other item while purchasing an item to complete a purchase.

5. Felt trapped in a chakravyuha because you weren’t able to locate unsubscribe option? or found yourself automatically debited even during a free trial? That's falling into the Subscription Trap, a form of dark pattern frustrating users upon exit or trapping them into paid subscriptions.

6. Ever struggled to find a relevant button to decline an order as button is hidden in light colors or tiny fonts? That's Interface Interference, manipulating the user interface and leading users away from their intended actions.

7. Ever felt attracted by a deal which ends before purchase and an alternative expensive offer is received ? That's Bait & Switch form of dark pattern. Its to attract with a deal but with an intent to sell alternative product/services.

8. Unrevealed costs or hidden charges popping up post-purchase, forcing additional payments? That's Drip Pricing, a dark pattern hiding extra fees or undisclosed costs after checkout.

9. Clicked a regular content, but resulting in viewing a forced advertisement ? That's Disguised Advertisement, a deceptive practice where ads masquerade as regular content to trick users into clicking.

10. Constantly asked to download or provide personal details for various reasons? That's Nagging, a dark pattern that persistently disrupts and annoys users with repeated requests, aiming for commercial gains.

11. Faced with dual meaning choices like "Not Now" instead of a clear "Yes" or "No". That's a Trick question, having unclear language to steer users towards a specific response or action.

12. Are you charged, without notification or auto continuing after trial period? That's Saas Billing, exploiting recurring subscriptions without proper user notifications.

13. Ever encountered an alert offering support for an impacted malware ? That's Rogue Malwares, pretending to be protective tool but embedded with malware to trick users into paying or accessing harmful links.

—

Hope you have understood Dark Patterns & its 13 types!

Ever encountered an alert offering support for an impacted malware ? That's Rogue Malwares, pretending to be protective tool but embedded with malware to trick users into paying or accessing harmful links.

Hope you have understood multiple types of Dark Patterns!