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The Central Consumer Protection Authority has imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Roppen Transportation Services Private Limited, which operates the ride-hailing platform Rapido.
CCPA found two dark patterns: 'confirm shaming' in prompts urging riders to raise their fare, and 'interface interference' in a colour-coded pricing slider.
It held that a tip is voluntary and paid after a service, and cannot be presented as a condition for the ride being provided.
The order is part of a sector-wide examination of pre-ride tipping and dynamic pricing; notices went to Uber, Ola, Rapido and Namma Yatri, and the Uber and Ola examinations continue.
A user-interface or user-experience design that misleads or tricks users into doing something they did not intend, subverting their autonomy, decision-making or choice. In Indian law it amounts to a misleading advertisement, an unfair trade practice or a violation of consumer rights.
Regulator established under Section 10 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 to protect consumers as a class, regulate unfair trade practices and act against false or misleading advertisements; it may act on its own motion and impose penalties
The three-tier quasi-judicial machinery under the 2019 Act for individual complaints - District, State and National - distinct from CCPA, which acts for consumers as a class rather than deciding individual disputes
Pre-litigation grievance redressal channel on 1915 for complaints about misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices and dark patterns
Replaced the Consumer Protection Act, 1986; created the CCPA under Section 10 and the three-tier Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions, and defines unfair trade practice and misleading advertisement.
Notified by CCPA on 30 November 2023 in exercise of its powers under Section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019; they list 13 specified dark patterns, among them confirm shaming and interface interference - the two found here.
Framed under the 2019 Act to set out the duties and liabilities of e-commerce entities, marketplace and inventory alike.
Issued by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on 1 July 2025, replacing the 2020 guidelines made under Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. They require any tipping feature to be offered only after the ride is completed, not at booking or during the ride - the provision CCPA relied on.
GS Paper 2 > Governance > Statutory and Regulatory Bodies
General Awareness > Indian Polity and Consumer Law
A dark pattern that uses fear, shame or urgency to push a consumer into an action - here, fear of losing the ride if the rider did not pay more.
A dark pattern in which the visual design itself steers a choice, independent of the text - here, a slider coloured green upwards and red downwards with more room to raise the fare.
A practice defined under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 that adopts deceptive methods to promote a sale; dark patterns fall within it.