Advertisements by e-commerce platforms, food delivery apps, and other websites that don’t display full price of advertised items, or bait consumers will now be considered misleading.

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The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has released new guidelines for what is called ‘dark patterns’ of advertising. This essentially means advertising practices that lead consumers to make choices that may not be in their best interests.

ASCI said since its remit is limited to self-regulation of advertising content, these guidelines cover only advertising in digital media including e-commerce, airline, food delivery etc. apps and websites.

“The code requires ads to not mislead by omission, exaggeration, implication or ambiguity,” the ASCI said in its guidelines.

The first guideline refers to drip pricing where ASCI says prices quoted in advertisements and e-commerce sites must include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all or most buyers.

For instance, ASCI states the example of a consumer ordering something from an online food delivery platform. If the price of Rs 100 is shown, but the final amount payable comes to Rs. 175 as it additionally includes taxes, delivery fees, platform convenience fees and other such charges, and If such charges are common for all or most consumers, they must be included in the displayed prices on the listing ad itself.

Incomplete price representations upfront would be considered misleading, ASCI’s guidelines state.

Guidelines also say that baiting a consumer with a product at a certain price but then either changing the price or revealing the product is out of stock and offering an alternative, etc would be deemed misleading.

Creating a false sense of urgency like “stating or implying that quantities of a particular product or service are more limited than they actually would amount to misleading consumers”. This could, for instance, be certain airline seats available at a certain price.

ASCI says that in the case of any complaint, the advertisers would be required to demonstrate that the stock position at the time of the appearance of the limited quantity message was of a level where the urgency communicated could not be considered misleading.

Lastly, the guidelines also deem advertisements in a format that’s similar to editorial or organic content must clearly disclose that it is an ad. Examples could be influencer posts, paid reviews, and ads placed in a manner to appear like editorial content.

These guidelines will be applicable from September 1, 2023, and the ASCI has said that the Department of Consumer Affairs will set up a task force to look at a larger self-regulatory framework.

(Edited by : Sangam Singh)

First Published:Jun 15, 2023 9:39 PM IST