The government is looking for an innovative app or software-based solution to tackle the problem of ‘dark pattern’ tactics used by certain online players to manipulate customer choices.
Innovative ideas will be selected in three rounds in the intra- and inter-institutional ‘Dark Patterns Buster’ hackathon concluding on February 17, 2024 at IIT-BHU, Varanasi. Five winning teams will be awarded a cash prize of up to Rs 10 lakh along with a certificate of achievement.
“The hackathon aims to come up with an innovative app or software-based solution that can detect the usage, type and scale of dark patterns for e-commerce platforms,” Consumer Affairs Minister Rohit Kumar Singh said at the launch.
This is the third hackathon organized by the Consumer Affairs department, after the successful hackathon on onions and tomatoes, he says.
Currently, there are no tools available in India or abroad to detect the ‘dark patterns’ on certain online platforms. India is likely to be the first country to take steps to find a solution to address this problem, he said, adding that the aim is to find a solution to empower consumers and protect their interests.
Registration for the hackathon started on Thursday and will continue until December 15. Thereafter, an intra-institutional hackathon will be organized at registered host institutions between December 16 and January 15, 2024, while an inter-institutional competition will be held in Varanasi. on February 17, 2024.
The prize will be awarded to the five winning teams on World Consumer Rights Day on March 15, 2024.
Speaking on the occasion, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) Chairman Nidhi Khare said the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has already come out with draft guidelines on shady patterns and sought public comments.
“We have specified ten dark patterns in the draft guidelines. These include false urgency, basket sneaking, confirmation shaming, and others. We’ve taken three more shady patterns – trick questions, SaaS billing and rogue malware – that we received through public consultation. ” she said.
Elaborating on the kind of tools required to tackle dark patterns, IIT-BHU professor NS Rajput said participants should develop browser extensions, add-ons, plug-ins, applications, mobile apps, etc. to tackle dark patterns on e-commerce platforms.
However, the pattern detection must be accurate, extensions must be easy to use, the availability of repository management, cross-browser compatibility, crowd-sourced pattern identification, data collection with privacy protection and performance optimization, he said.
The evaluation will be based on innovation, demonstration of the solution as a turnkey solution, user interface or user experience, accuracy and reliability, privacy and compliance, performance and optimization, he added.
Joint Secretary Anupam Mishra was also present at the launch.