India’s New Apps To Fight E-Commerce Fraud. Can This Finally Protect Consumers’ Rights And Online Frauds?

On December 24, 2024, the government launched three anti-fraud state-of-the-art apps: ‘ Jago Grahak Jago App,’ the ‘Jagriti App,’ and the ‘Jagriti Dashboard.‘ This will be the first step of the Department of Consumer Affairs, who will take historic strides against the manipulative e-commerce portals in India. In view of National Consumer Day, this is going to tackle “dark patterns,” those deceptive maneuvers through which e-commerce entities manipulate consumers. This large-scale move is a sea change in the digital consumer protection scenario, and it will empower crores of online shoppers in India.

Before going into the details of these apps, it is important to understand the problem they are addressing.

What Are Dark Patterns?

Dark patterns are manipulative design tactics websites and apps use to trick users into making decisions that are often against their best interests. These tactics take advantage of human psychology to force, confuse, or mislead consumers. They make it hard for users to avoid certain actions, such as subscribing to unwanted services, sharing excessive personal information, or making unintended purchases.

The CCPA has identified few different dark patterns:

• Basket Sneaking: That is automatically adding items to the shopping cart of a consumer without the explicit consent.
• Confirm Shaming: Where guilt is used to bully users into making a certain choice.
• Subscription Traps: That make it easy for a service to subscribe but difficult for it to cancel.
• False Scarcity: Creating artificial urgency with words such as “Only 2 items left” or using countdown timers to force customers into buying.
• Drip Pricing: Only at the final stages of a transaction, showing extra costs, such as taxes, fees, or surcharges.
• Interface Interference: User interfaces are made to guide consumers toward a particular choice.
• Bait and Switch: Advertising something but delivering something else altogether.

Present Challenges Faced by Consumers in E-commerce

The real-time convenience, variety, and accessibility have disrupted the entire process of how a consumer would shop. Nevertheless, it has exposed a shopper to fraudulent activities by relying on placing trust in other people. Dark patterns relate to the manipulative designs that have proven to be one of the most hazardous aspects of online shopping currently. These can bring about frustration, financial losses, and also violation of privacy for the consumers. Some of the problems dark patterns pose before consumers include;

Hidden Fees

The most common dark pattern is the hidden fees, which are applied at the last stages of the transaction. Most e-commerce websites introduce additional fees, such as delivery fees, gift-wrapping fees, or even donation fees, which the consumer is not fully aware of before the transaction. 

For example, a user may have completed all the checkout steps, assuming they are paying a specific amount, when they finally reach the payment stage, only to discover a much higher total amount. These hidden fees slowly chip away at the consumer’s trust and many are coerced into the buy to save time despite being misled.

Subscription Traps

The most common approach is subscription traps. This often lures the consumers to free trials or very low-priced subscriptions with no option to cancel and eventually lock them into recurring payments. Companies deliberately make the cancellation process cumbersome, burying the option under layers of menus or requiring unnecessary steps like phone calls. 

According to a study by the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), such practices have led to recurring financial burdens on countless consumers, who unknowingly end up paying for services they no longer use or never intended to subscribe to in the first place.

Privacy Violations

Dark patterns also thrive on consumer data exploitation. Many websites and applications use pre-checked boxes or false language to trick users into allowing access to personal data such as contacts, photos, or location. 

That data is then used for targeted advertising or, worse, sold to third parties without the user’s explicit consent. Privacy violations are an issue in the world today, and consumers seem not to know how personal data is being harvested within themselves.

Pressure Tactics

Another tactic often used by e-commerce sites is creating a false sense of urgency. Countdown timers, warnings that something is close to being out of stock, or even “Only 2 left!” – all are made to spur the customer into an impulse buy. 

Such pressure tactics have to do with the fear of losing out, where buyers become pressured into making decisions based on impulsive rather than thoughtful considerations. While sometimes such warnings are real, many of them are total fabrications, misleading people and creating undue anxiety.

Dark patterns include interfaces that are manipulative through poor design or intentional vagueness. Such interfaces trick consumers into making undesirable purchases, agreeing to poor terms, or sharing completely irrelevant information. For example, decline offer buttons become hidden or presented in an unobvious manner but accept promotion options are super visible. It makes online experience very frustrating and hurts consumer autonomy.

The Government’s Initiative: A Technological Solution

It has been a bold initiative on the part of the Indian government to protect consumers in the digital marketplace as the dark patterns of manipulative practices are increasing day by day. At this point, when e-commerce is shaping consumer behaviour, it has never been a more relevant time to protect consumer rights. 

On December 24, 2024, the Department of Consumer Affairs will unveil three innovative applications to fight against such manipulative practices and empower users.

The Three Applications

Each of the three applications—Jago Grahak Jago App, Jagriti App, and Jagriti Dashboard—is unique and contributes to the improvement of dark patterns while promoting a safer online shopping environment.

1. Jago Grahak Jago App

Jago Grahak Jago App is the consumer anticipation application, which keeps protecting users while one is surfing or even going shopping from a lot of Internet threats.

Key features :

• Real-time Alerts -this app follows user actions that warn of dangerous and unwanted URLs that are Phishing sites or fake pages. 
• Threat Detection Dark Pattern- By the web analysing behavior it identifies its hidden charges and also its exploitative prompts.
• Educational Material: The App has the education material that educates the consumer about common online frauds and their rights.

The Jago Grahak Jago App is a digital watchdog to ensure a consumer can shop online with confidence, knowing that he or she is protected from unscrupulous practices.

2. Jagriti App

The Jagriti App is the one which empowers the consumer with the action against dark patterns. Here, it provides a platform whereby users can raise complaints concerning the instances of dark patterns through the concerned authorities.

Working:

• Complaint Filing: Users can file their complaints related to suspicious URLs or websites they believe have indulged in dark patterns.
• Forwarding Mechanism: Complaints are forwarded automatically to CCPA to further investigate the issue.
• Transparency in Tracking: The app allows the users to trace the complaint status while also ensuring accountability and transparency.

It is not just arming the consumers with a right to fight back but is turning out to be a data source for tracking trends and problematic platforms.

3. Jagriti Dashboard

Jagriti Dashboard is the advanced AI-based tool for monitoring and analysis, so that the dark patterns can be dealt with better with the help of technology.

Features:

• Real-Time Data Collection: The dashboard gathers reports from the Jagriti App and analyses them in real-time.
• AI-Driven Insights: Artificial intelligence enables the tool to find repetitive patterns of deceptive practices on all platforms.
• Actionable Reports: The dashboard gives the CCPA reports that allow for immediate action against offenders.

This tool strengthens the government’s ability to watch over the digital marketplace by allowing timely interventions and more transparent e-commerce.

The Technology Behind the Initiative

This is not a government policy declaration but is instead backed up with cutting-edge technology that distinguishes it from ordinary solutions. Three applications present here, Jago Grahak Jago App, Jagriti App, and Jagriti Dashboard-offer the best mix of technological innovation and social responsibility.

Developers: Harnessing Young Talent

The applications were conceptualised and developed by the IIT (BHU) students. It depicts how young innovators can contribute to a much larger extent toward solving crucial challenges in society. Keeping real-life problems such as consumer exploitation in mind, these students have shown the prospects of technological advancements led by youth toward public welfare.

AI-powered Features: Intelligence Meets Vigilance

Dark pattern apps utilise AI to identify and mitigate dark patterns. With the utilisation of AI, tools monitor user interactions in real time, detect manipulative schemes, and present actionable knowledge to consumers and regulators, respectively. 

For example;

Pattern Recognition: Algorithms based on AI scan for particular behaviors or designs of interfaces that have similar characteristics with known dark patterns.

Real-Time Alerts: Users are immediately alerted on the detection of unsafe URLs or deceptive tactics in a user’s online activity.

Data Analytics: The apps process large volumes of consumer data to identify recurring trends in manipulative practices across e-commerce platforms.

Infrastructure: Built on a Supercomputing Backbone

The apps are based on the Airawat AI Supercomputer, part of India’s National Supercomputing Mission. The high-performance infrastructure ensures that the apps can process large amounts of data very quickly and efficiently. Because the system can scale operations, it can handle the complexities of monitoring a rapidly growing digital marketplace.

Real-Life Cases of Dark Patterns

Dark patterns are not just some imaginary problems-they have actually affected millions of Indian consumers in tangible and real time. Many such high-profile cases reflect widespread techniques that have a serious impact on the consumer.

BookMyShow

Basket Sneaking Technique

A leading ticketing website, BookMyShow, was caught surreptitiously adding ₹1 to customers’ bills without their explicit consent. This is a common trick called “basket sneaking.” It is a form of charge that the consumer does not know about, and it is included after the checkout process.

The impact: Consumers paid money for a cause that might not have been of interest to them, eroding trust in the platform.

Resolution: Following intervention by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), BookMyShow was compelled to remove the pre-checked donation option. Now, it offers only voluntary opt-in on the platform, thus increasing transparency.

IndiGo Airlines: Guilt Check

India’s most prominent airline, IndiGo, resorted to guilt check-ups to compel passengers to purchase overpriced travel insurance and other optional services. A typical example is the phrase used in the app, “No, I will take the risk”.

Impact: This type of language played on consumers’ fear and guilt, resulting in wasteful expenditure.

Resolution: The CCPA stepped in, and IndiGo was forced to change its wording. The airline used a more neutral wordage and included clear disclaimers so that the user knew what they were choosing without feeling forced to do so.

Amazon India: Drip Pricing

In addition, the largest e-commerce company, Amazon India, has been accused of using “drip pricing.” This is where the displayed initial price is much lower compared to the amount charged at the point of checkout. The delivery fee or taxes are only charged at the final stage of the purchase.

Impact: This is a strategy that gives the impression of saving money to the consumer but ultimately disappoints and erodes trust.

Resolution: It is in such light that, although regulatory action is still under process, the issue of need for consumer vigilance and more strict oversight of such processes has been highlighted.

The Effect of Dark Patterns on Indian Consumers

India’s digital economy is massive in scale, with over 950 million internet users and a rapidly expanding e-commerce market. This growth opens up huge opportunities but, at the same time, dark patterns are thriving in the very grounds of fertile opportunity.

Statistics into the Problem

Latest research portrays the grim scale and impact of dark patterns in India:

• Widespread Manipulation: A study found that among the 53 apps under survey in India, as many as 52 adopted dark patterns, indicating to what extent such manipulations were prevalent.
• Mass outreach: Total downloads of these apps touched 2,100 crores, which shows a massive outreach of Indian customers to such manipulations
• Prevalence: Each app, on average, used 2.7 dark patterns, which again reveals the systematic nature of manipulative strategies.

The monetary cost of dark patterns is shocking. Dark patterns in terms of lost business due to hidden charges, subscription traps, and fake prices run into thousands of crores. This drains the pockets of an individual but also leads to the causation of damage to consumer confidence in the digital marketplace.

Impact on Broader Initiative

The action taken by the government to counter dark patterns, the Jago Grahak Jago App, Jagriti App, and Jagriti Dashboard, goes beyond the curbing of manipulative online practices and effectively saves India from this quagmire. 

The steps taken by the government against dark patterns, Jago Grahak Jago App, Jagriti App, and Jagriti Dashboard, go far beyond the elimination of manipulative online practice and saves India from falling into this quagmire. It is in the direction of consumer empowerment, building trust, and positioning India as a world leader in ethical digital governance.

Consumer awareness increased

One of the more positive impacts of this movement is consumer awareness. In general, dark patterns prevail because consumers are not aware of such manipulative mechanisms. Educating consumers about how these manipulations actually occur is one way that the government could be creating a vigilant, informed consumer base.

The Jago Grahak Jago App gives users access to downloading materials on common digital frauds, spotting unsafe websites, and understanding consumer rights- all important knowledge in facilitating safe and confident navigation across the digital marketplace.

According to a survey last year, nearly 75% of Indian consumers had not heard of manipulative online practices, clearly requiring such an educational drive.

Ethical Design Practices

The initiative clearly gives notice to companies that are working within the digital space in India: unethical behavior is no longer acceptable. The government holds business establishments responsible and nudges them toward transparent and consumer-friendly design.

Currently, several platforms use tactics like subscription pre-checked boxes, guilt prompts, or sneaky charges at checkout. This is all about playing around with consumer psychology to ensure the highest profit. When the AI-based tools, like the Jagriti Dashboard, become operational, companies will face constant scrutiny. The prevention of such unethical practices might be expected to prompt fair practices from businesses, thereby threatening legal and reputational repercussions.

Strengthened Consumer Rights

This is a huge leap in the protection of consumer rights. Earlier, consumers could not do much when powerful companies used dark patterns to exploit them. The Jagriti App, along with other such tools, provides consumers with an independent direct channel to file grievances and monitor the redressal process.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has integrated the application, which means every complaint is taken very seriously and probed with utmost detail. Such a structure helps people stand up against exploitation and ensures that their voices are heard. Increasing consumer confidence builds trust that the government genuinely cares about public interests.

Technological Leadership

India’s use of AI-based consumer protection tools is the benchmark globally in terms of utilising technology to overcome the challenges of modern times. The dependence of the country on state-of-the-art infrastructure, like the Airawat AI Supercomputer, underlines the technological acumen of the country.

Such application of artificial intelligence towards the analysis of user behavior, dark pattern detection, and the generation of actionable insights is a pioneering step. Bringing cutting-edge technology to bear on consumer rights protection and showing how innovative approaches may be used as tools for social justice is what India is doing. This would indeed motivate other countries and make India a role model in ethical digital governance.

Future Implications

The long-term benefits of such a plan are numerous, as well-from consumers to companies and the global digital ecosystems.

The more public awareness there is of these dark patterns, the greater the chances of companies adapting their strategies to eliminate those practices. Greater scrutiny along with threats of litigation against businesses will also discourage businesses from using manipulative strategies.This will result in significant fraudulent activities gradually disappearing, and the internet slowly becomes a safer place to be used.

Trust is the backbone for any successful marketplace, and the digital ecosystem is not an exception. Dark patterns break down consumer trust, which makes consumers wary of performing transactions online. By targeting these manipulative practices, the government is creating a sense of security among users.

This newfound trust is going to cascade down the e-commerce sector. A more secure online world will get more people to shop online, hence growing the industry. A report by NASSCOM shows that India’s e-commerce market will hit $350 billion by 2030. This will be through such efforts, with the genuine realisation that consumer interests are very well catered for.

International Acclaim

This will easily serve as a precursor or even an inspiration for other countries in using the same approach when combating dark patterns. Given its pioneering status in equipping AI-powered consumer protection tools, India is paving a path to ethical governance in the new age.

International recognition can increase India’s standing in world leadership in technology-driven policymaking. India, with the capability of showing how sophisticated infrastructure and innovation will meet societal challenges, has taken the first steps towards leading the new world order for digital ethics.

Viewpoint

This launch of Jago Grahak Jago App, Jagriti App, and Jagriti Dashboard is an audacious step in addressing such a persistent issue in Indian digital markets. This is broader than protection of individual rights; this is building greater trust and fostering ethical practices about the effective use of technological tools.

The government empowers users by enhancing consumer awareness, strengthening rights, and promoting transparency. On the other hand, businesses are challenged to put fairness above exploitation and set a new standard for corporate accountability.

The long-term benefits of the initiative—ranging from a reduction in fraudulent practices to enhanced trust in ecommerce—are huge. Moreover, India’s leadership in becoming the first country to widely adopt AI-powered consumer protection tools positions the country as a global vanguard in digital ethics.

As the digital economy will continue to grow, initiatives of this kind are going to play a pioneering role in ensuring that this growth is both inclusive and sustainable. It’s not just a stride forward for India but calls on the global community to pursue fair, transparent, and empowering consumerism in today’s digital world. For it is through this program, India not only finds the solution to an already important concern but also creates ground for more inclusive futures for everyone involved.