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11 IJCLP 123 (2023)
Dark Patterns in a Bright World: An Analysis of the Indian Consumer Legal Architecture

handle is hein.journals/ijclpc11 and id is 131 raw text is: DARK PATTERNS IN A BRIGHT WORLD: AN ANALYSIS OF THE INDIAN CONSUMER LEGAL ARCHITECTURE Sandeep Sharma J* & Dr. Ishita Sharma** Abstract 'Dark patterns' are consumer targeted marketing strategies that capitalize on cognitive biases of consumers, pro- pelling them to make decisions contrary to their intended prefer- ences. The term dark patterns, coined by user designer Harry Bignull, has gained traction recently, due to its correlation with psychological responses that are produced through nudges that are unaligned to the consumers' original preference. The consumer responses elicited through the use of such dubious nudges have a direct correlation with the way the human brain functions. These covert strategies employed by digital marketing platforms capital- ize through behavioral science, aimed at their economic growth compromising the consumers' free, fair and independent deci- sion-making capacity. The use of these algorithmic strategies to drive businesses has multiple legal tangents with a direct bearing on competition, contract, privacy and consumer law. The authors in the first section of the paper examine the various forms of dark patterns with the aid of graphical representations, that augment the argument that dark patterns are manipulative tools employed to economically disempower consumers'. In the second section of the article, the authors highlight the erosion of decisional privacy of the consumers, a phenomenon that overtly seems to be an exercise of free will but is a tacit capitalization of cognitive biases of con- sumers spurring them to in advertently take actions against their prefer red interest. In the third section of the article, the authors analyze the existing Indian regulatory architecture and propose relevant provisions that can be used to address these algorithmi- cally induced marketing strategies. In the final section of the paper, the authors propose the changes that can be brought in the Indian regulatory architecture, specifically under the Consumer Protection Hon'ble Mr Sandeep Sharma Judge, High Court of Himachal Pradesh. Ishita Sharma Dr Assistant Professor (Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law Punjab).