A report by Datum Intelligence examines how 'dark patterns'—deceptive user interfaces—affect the Indian e-commerce market. The study highlights a significant gap between government regulations and how companies actually behave.

Datum Intelligence 的一份報告研究了所謂的「黑暗模式」——即欺騙性的使用者介面——如何影響印度電子商務市場。該研究強調了政府監管與公司實際行為之間存在顯著差距。

The financial impact of these deceptive practices is huge, with consumers losing between ₹25,000 crore and ₹28,000 crore annually. Datum Intelligence emphasizes that the total economic effect ranges from ₹80,000 to ₹83,000 crore, which is nearly 8% of the digital commerce market. Furthermore, trust is declining, which puts approximately ₹55,000 crore in sales at risk as customers stop using these services.

這些欺騙行為造成的財務影響巨大，消費者每年損失 2.5 兆至 2.8 兆盧比。Datum Intelligence 強調，總體經濟影響範圍在 8 兆至 8.3 兆盧比之間，幾乎佔數位商貿市場的 8%。此外，信任度正在下降，由於顧客停止使用這些服務，導致約 5.5 兆盧比的銷售額面臨風險。

Different sectors use different deceptive methods. For example, quick-commerce apps often use 'forced actions' or create a fake sense of urgency. In contrast, travel websites frequently use 'drip pricing,' where extra costs are added at the end of the booking process. Interestingly, the report found an 'awareness paradox': while 81% of users believe they can spot these tricks, 85% admit they were still fooled. This suggests that clever design is more powerful than consumer knowledge. Additionally, customer support is often ineffective, as only 23% of people who complained received a satisfactory solution.

不同領域使用的欺騙手段各異。例如，快商務 App 經常使用「強迫行動」或營造虛假的緊迫感。相比之下，旅遊網站則頻繁使用「滴灌定價」，在預訂過程的最後階段才加入額外費用。有趣的是，報告發現了一種「認知悖論」：雖然 81% 的使用者認為自己能識破這些伎倆，但 85% 的人承認仍被欺騙。這表明巧妙的設計比消費者的知識更強大。此外，客戶服務通常效果不佳，在投訴者中僅有 23% 獲得了滿意的解決方案。

Despite the 2023 guidelines from the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), enforcement remains weak. The report asserts that there are three main problems: companies are allowed to report their own compliance, the maximum fine of ₹50 lakh is too low to discourage big companies, and there is no single central authority to manage the rules. Consequently, the first actual fine was not issued until December 2025, showing a long delay in taking action.

儘管中央消費者保護局 (CCPA) 在 2023 年發布了指引，但執行力仍然疲弱。報告指出存在三個主要問題：公司被允許自行報告合規情況、最高 500 萬盧比的罰金對大公司而言過低，無法起到威懾作用，且缺乏單一的中央權威來管理規則。因此，直到 2025 年 12 月才開出首筆實際罰單，顯示採取行動存在嚴重延遲。

Although deceptive designs are now illegal, they are still common in India's digital markets. To solve this, the report suggests moving toward independent audits and fines based on a company's total revenue.

雖然欺騙性設計現在已屬違法，但在印度的數位市場中依然普遍。為了擬解決此問題，報告建議轉向獨立審核，並根據公司的總營收來處以罰金。