By Our Staff
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has published comprehensive guidelines for ‘Online Deceptive Design Patterns in Advertising’, to “empower businesses, designers, and stakeholders to create user-centric experiences while promoting transparency, trust, and ethical standards in the digital landscape”.
The following are the areas that the new guidelines address:
1. Drip Pricing: Drip pricing refers to a practice in which elements of the costs are not revealed up front, and the total price is only revealed at the very end of the buying process or after confirmation of purchase. This creates ambiguity around the final price as well as prevents easy cost comparisons. The guidelines require quoted prices in advertisements and e-commerce sites to include non-optional taxes, duties, fees and charges that apply to all buyers. Incomplete price representations upfront would be considered misleading.
2. Bait and Switch: When an ad or an element in an ad directly or indirectly implies one outcome of the consumer’s action but instead serves up another, it is misleading.
3. False Urgency: Stating or implying that quantities of a product or service are more limited than they are is considered misleading. In case of a complaint, the advertiser 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.
4. Disguised Ads: An advertisement that is of a similar format as 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.
Said Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI: “With the government and the industry echoing their belief in self-regulation, we believe that the guidelines we have issued today will play a crucial role in fostering a more ethical and trustworthy advertising ecosystem and protecting consumer trust. These guidelines will require businesses to create communication and systems that respect user autonomy, improve transparency, and encourage well-informed choices.”
Added Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary Department of Consumer Affairs: “We welcome the new ASCI guidelines related to advertising. Deceptive online patterns are also a violation of the Consumer Protection Act. We look forward to working with ASCI and the industry to support a robust self-regulatory mechanism for the larger framework on online deceptive patterns”.
The guidelines will be applicable from September 1, 2023. To read the detailed guidelines, please visit link: https://www.ascionline.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Guidelines-for-Online-Deceptive-Design-Patterns-in-Advertising.pdf