Zepto, IndiGo, and Physics Wallah among 9 platforms penalised for deceiving consumers

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 5, 2026: The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has penalised nine digital platforms, including IndiGo, Zepto, FirstCry, Physics Wallah and SpiceJet, for deploying “dark patterns”, or deceptive user interface designs that manipulate consumer choices, the government told the Rajya Sabha. The consumer affairs department has strengthened safeguards against unfair digital trade practices, it added.

The Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, identifies and regulates 13 types of deceptive interface designs, including false urgency, basket sneaking, subscription traps, drip pricing, confirm shaming and trick questions.

The CCPA issued an advisory in June 2025 asking e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits to detect dark patterns on their platforms. The regulator has since then collected about ₹20 lakh in fines from those found violating the guidelines, the government told the upper House in a written reply on Tuesday.

Zepto Marketplace, a quick commerce outlet, was fined ₹7 lakh after the CCPA found that the platform initially displayed lower prices but added handling charges and membership fees. The CCPA noted that the handling charges amounted to drip pricing, while automatically adding the membership constituted basket sneaking.

The government informed the House that Zepto has discontinued the dark pattern.

The CCPA took suo motu cognisance and fined digital education platform Physics Wallah ₹5 lakh after the regulator found that a ₹10 donation to its “PW Foundation” was automatically pre-selected. It found emotionally persuasive messaging was displayed to nudge consumers into retaining the pre-selected donation amount.

The CCPA objected to free courses requiring mandatory disclosure of personal information before access. “The company deposited the penalty and discontinued the dark pattern,” the government told the Rajya Sabha.

The CCPA acted on complaints about IndiGo’s confirm shaming on its mobile application. The airline replaced the earlier opt-out message, “No I will take risk”, with the more neutral, “No, I will not add to the trip” after the regulator’s intervention.

BookMyShow, a movie ticket booking platform, was asked to remove a pre-ticked ₹1 contribution to its charitable initiative BookASmile after being pulled up for basket sneaking.

The regulator imposed penalties on FirstCry ( ₹2 lakh), PharmaEasy ( ₹1 lakh), McAfee ( ₹1 lakh), SpiceJet ( ₹1 lakh) and coaching platform Anuj Jindal ( ₹3 lakh), directing them to discontinue dark patterns ranging from hidden charges and forced subscriptions to misleading countdown timers and manipulative subscription renewal prompts.