Zepto, IndiGo, Physics Wallah Among 9 Platforms Fined by CCPA for Deceptive 'Dark Patterns'

New Delhi: The Central customer Protection Authority (CCPA) has penalized nine digital sites, including IndiGo, Zepto, Physics Wallah, FirstCry, and SpiceJet, for adopting "dark patterns," which are deceptive design practices that affect or control customer decisions online. The administration informed the Rajya Sabha that the consumer affairs department has boosted its efforts to combat unfair practices in digital commerce.

The Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, identify 13 types of misleading behaviours. These include fake urgency, basket sneaking, subscription traps, drip pricing, confirmation shaming, and trick questions. 

The government stated that the CCPA issued an advice in June 2025 requesting e-commerce platforms to conduct self-audits to identify and eliminate dark patterns from their platforms. The regulator collected roughly ₹20 lakh in penalties from enterprises that violated norms, according to a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

Zepto, Physics Wallah Among Major Platforms Pulled Up

Zepto Marketplace was fined ₹7 lakh by the CCPA for initially displaying reduced pricing but later adding handling costs and membership fees at checkout. The regulator ruled that the handling fees constituted drip pricing, whereas the automated inclusion of membership was an example of basket sneaking.

The government informed the House that Zepto had discontinued the dark pattern. The CCPA imposed a penalty of ₹5 lakh on Physics Wallah, a digital education portal. The regulator discovered that a ₹10 gift to the "PW Foundation" was automatically pre-selected. It was also shown that emotionally appealing messaging encouraged consumers to keep the contribution option selected.

The regulator also objected to free courses that required users to provide personal information before accessing them. "The company deposited the penalty and discontinued the dark pattern," the government told the Rajya Sabha.

IndiGo, BookMyShow and Others Directed to Remove Misleading Practices

The CCPA acted on complaints regarding IndiGo's mobile application, where users opting out of travel protection were shown the message, "No I will take risk". 

Following the regulator's intervention, the airline changed it to "No, I will not add to the trip."

BookMyShow was told to remove a pre-selected ₹1 contribution to its philanthropic project, BookASmile, after the regulator deemed it was a case of basket stealing. The regulator levied penalties against FirstCry (₹2 lakh), PharmaEasy (₹1 lakh), McAfee (₹1 lakh), SpiceJet (₹1 lakh), and coaching platform Anuj Jindal (₹3 lakh). The government ordered these companies to discontinue tactics such as hidden costs, forced subscriptions, misleading countdown timers, and deceptive subscription renewal prompts.