Manipulative Advertising ? You ain’t seen nothing !
Context :
Circa 2000 BC :
Battle of Mahabharat , between Pandavas and Kauravas , was about conquering an enemy, to gain control of land
Kauravas configured their army in the form of a “ Chakra-vyuha “
Pandav warrior Abhimanyu had learned the art of “ Entering / penetrating “ a “ Chakra-vyuha “
Unfortunately, he had not mastered the art of “ Exiting / Getting out “ from a “ Chakra-vyuha “
He got killed by the Kaurava warriors
Circa July 2023 :
Govt Urges Online Platforms To Refrain From Adopting Dark Patterns Harming Consumer Interest
Extract :
The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India has urged online platforms to refrain from incorporating any design or pattern in the online interface of their platform that may deceive or manipulate consumer choice and fall in the category of dark patterns.
In a letter addressed to major online platforms in India, Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs has strongly advised online platform to not engage in ‘unfair trade practices’ by incorporating dark patterns in their online interface to manipulate consumer choice and violate ‘consumer rights’ as enshrined under Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
It is pertinent to note that dark patterns involve using a design and choice architecture to trick, coerce or influence consumers to make choices not in their best interest.
Engaging in such deceptive and manipulative conduct by using dark patterns in online interfaces unfairly exploits consumers’ interest and constitutes ‘unfair trade practice’ under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
Recently, regulators in other jurisdictions such as European Union, USA and UK have taken action against dark patterns involving unfair and deceptive practices in online interfaces which were found to be detrimental to consumers.
The activities which the platforms were observed to be indulging include:-
- Non-consensual enrolment in subscription programs (USA)
- Pressure selling using misleading countdown clock (UK)
- Secretly saving credit card information and charging users without consent (USA)
- Putting in place a cancellation process designed to deter consumers from opting out of subscription (Norway).
Some examples of Dark Patterns are:
- False Urgency:
This tactic creates a sense of urgency or scarcity to pressure consumers into making a purchase or taking an action.
- Basket Sneaking:
Websites or apps use dark patterns to add additional products or services to the shopping cart without user consent.
- Subscription Traps:
This tactic makes it easy for consumers to sign up for a service but difficult for them to cancel it, often by hiding the cancellation option or requiring multiple steps.
- Confirm Shaming: I
It involves guilt as a way to make consumers adhere. It criticizes or attack consumers for not conforming to a particular belief or viewpoint.
- Forced Action:
This involves forcing consumers into taking an action they may not want to take, such as signing up for a service in order to access content.
- Nagging:
It refers to persistent, repetitive and annoyingly constant criticism, complaints, requests for action.
- Interface Interference:
This tactic involves making it difficult for consumers to take certain actions, such as canceling a subscription or deleting an account.
- Bait and Switch:
This involves advertising one product or service but delivering another, often of lower quality.
- Hidden Costs:
This tactic involves hiding additional costs from consumers until they are already committed to making a purchase.
- Disguised Ads:
Disguised ads are advertisements that are designed to look like other types of content, such as news articles or user-generated content.
Circa Aug 2018 :
Ø Future of Advertising ………………… 30 Aug 2018
Extract :
Two days back ,I sent following e mail to Shri Rajan Anandan of Google
[ 'ranandan@google.com' / '
Dear Rajan,
Does following appear doable ?
Google Ads - Coming Soon to Billboard Near You ? https://lnkd.in/fQn8w46
But Ads , either on our TV screens or on a Billboard, are STATIC
It is only a matter of time before Google starts displaying on the sides of city transport buses , DYNAMIC and CONTEXTUAL advts !
This concept has immense possibilities in a country like India where thousands of pedestrians are all the time walking on roads
Say , a spectacle-wearing pedestrian is standing on the footpath , in front of a shop of SUNAYAN OPTICIANS and sees a BEST bus approaching .
He had visited an eye doctor in the morning ( record on Mobile )
Lo and behold ! He sees on the side of the bus , an ADVT from SUNAYAN OPTICIANS , saying : FREE eye check up for the next 15 minutes !
That advt turns into an ad from AJANTA CHEMIST ( located 50 feet away down the road ) , where a pedestrian has a mobile in his hand , using which , he had ordered PENTOCID tablets in the morning
To his amazement , he notices that the Google Ad urges him to buy ANTACID tablets at 20 % discount - of course, from AJANTA CHEMIST !
But this required both those guys to be “ watching “ those ads on the sides of a moving bus
Now , if you are wondering :
How Google will manage to deliver Ads to you if you are sleeping with your eyes closed , no need to wonder
Google is developing devices ( Smart phones / Smart watches / Wrist bands / Google Assistant and even contact lenses with Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality / Brain Computer Interfaces and a hundred other IoT devices surrounding you 24x7 ) , all of which will “ deliver “ those Ads to your brain where these Ads will appear like “ Dreams “ !
Who knows , these “ dreams “ might one day , even deliver “ solutions “ to your problems ( no need to “ search “ for solutions in Google Search bar ! )
Millions may not care what Google knows about them ( - and how it got to know all about them ) , if Google can make their lives “ less miserable / less struggle / more convenient / more comfortable / more happy “
For them , it could well be : Privacy ko maro Goli
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.hemenparekh.ai / 01 July 2023
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