The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has penalised nine digital platforms, including Zepto, IndiGo, Physics Wallah, FirstCry and SpiceJet, for deploying deceptive online practices known as "dark patterns", the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
The action is part of the Centre's broader effort to strengthen consumer protection in the digital marketplace under the Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, which prohibit 13 types of manipulative interface designs such as drip pricing, basket sneaking, false urgency, subscription traps, confirm shaming and trick questions.
In a written reply to the Upper House, the government said the CCPA had issued an advisory in June 2025 directing e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits to identify and eliminate dark patterns. Since then, the regulator has collected nearly ₹20 lakh in penalties from companies found violating the guidelines.
Among the firms penalised, Zepto Marketplace was fined ₹7 lakh after the regulator found that handling charges and membership fees were added during checkout despite initially displaying lower prices. The CCPA classified the hidden handling charges as drip pricing and the automatic addition of membership as basket sneaking. The company has since discontinued the practices.
Physics Wallah was fined ₹5 lakh after the CCPA found that a ₹10 donation to the platform's charitable foundation was automatically pre-selected and accompanied by persuasive messaging encouraging users to retain the donation. The regulator also objected to requiring users to share personal information before accessing free courses. The edtech platform has deposited the penalty and removed the offending features.
Following complaints, IndiGo modified the wording of an opt-out option on its mobile app after the regulator termed it an instance of confirm shaming. BookMyShow was similarly directed to remove a pre-selected ₹1 donation to its BookASmile initiative.
Other companies penalised include FirstCry (₹2 lakh), PharmaEasy (₹1 lakh), McAfee (₹1 lakh), SpiceJet (₹1 lakh) and coaching platform Anuj Jindal (₹3 lakh) for practices ranging from hidden charges and misleading countdown timers to forced subscriptions and manipulative renewal prompts.
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