Digital Ethics arrives in India !

Ethics in digital and design space in India just made its first official appearance. The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), India's top consumer watchdog, has notified guidelines for the “prevention and regulation” of dark patterns.

The Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, issued under section 18 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, have been notified by the CCPA in the Official Gazette on November 30. The guidelines that come into force will apply to all platforms, systematically offering goods or services in India; advertisers and sellers. This will have a direct bearing on how goods are sold and advertised by ecommerce sites in India. They prohibit “against engaging” in dark patterns.

This should just be the start to stem the erosion of trust from the digital ecosystem. Given the virtuality of the digital medium, transparency is the cornerstone to build trust both for the space and for organizations seeking to establish a connection and presence.

Though digital is a space created by design, technology and content, it is inhabited and interacted by Humans. And it is imperative that the ethos that are derived and applicable to humanity, are reinforced and abidance by in this space as well. As consciousness and guidelines evolve, contextualization for local cultures will have to be provisioned for. Digital Ethics will need blends both the universality of humanity and the respect for local practices and norms.

There is a thin line that separates user experience from user manipulation

For long digital and also design, under constant pressure of performance or misplaced intent have not provisioned for an ethics framework for digital space. Because it is design that creates the layer or the interface which enables human interaction with technology, there is a greater onus on design to have an evolved sense of ethics.

As I outlined during my recent presentation on - Ethics in Digital and Design at India HCI 2023 conference in UPES, Dehradun - there is a need to have a code of ethics for both the design practitioners and the digital architects as well.

Knowingly and unknowingly UX dark patterns are seamlessly deployed to? increase click through rates, to coercion and to convert buyers and power acquisition. We, as a design fraternity, should become more ethically conscious about what we are designing for and what our design is leading the users to.

Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have the right to create and what is the responsible way to create. This is a responsibility we collectively share, to create a digital future that is designed to inspire trust and deliver emotional fulfillment to humans.

With digital space expanding with the growth of AI, Metaverse and robots, it has become as critical as a design system to evolve a values system as well.

The EU and OECD started the ball rolling on AI back in 2019 with their Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI. Slowly but not surprisingly the industry and businesses are also embracing digital ethics and tailoring their actions accordingly.

Merck, a vibrant team of specialists in Electronics, Healthcare and Life Science organizationally have a called out vision - 'Dedicated to Human Progress'. As an organization, Merck, believes in science and technology as a force for good. And true to its ethos, It has a pronounced code of Digital Ethics as part of their sustainability practices.

We, at HUDE studio, in our own small way always strives to bring a human touch to the digital presence and journey for brands we work for. When organizational or brand digital presence is infused with human touch they resonate with consumers, exude human warmth and shine above and beyond their peers.

List of frequently used dark patterns

• Bait and switch
• Disguised ads
• Forced continuity
• Hidden costs
• Misdirection
• Roach motel
• Confirmshaming
• Trick questions

Some quick links

Guidelines from Ministry of Consumer Affairs (by Govt. Of India)

Importance of ethics in design & AI (a talk by Nazim Iqbal)

India HCI 2023 ((India's most pronounced body on human-computer interaction)

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