Zepto—India's CCPA fined Zepto ₹7 lakh for using dark patterns including drip pricing and basket sneaking
In December 2024, India's Central Consumer Protection Authority fined Zepto ₹7 lakh for deploying dark patterns. The CCPA found Zepto's checkout-stage pricing caused consumers to pay more than MRP through hidden packaging charges. Zepto also added paid Zepto Pass membership to carts by default without explicit consent (basket sneaking) and used 'confirm shaming' by displaying 'No, I don't want to save' when users declined. CEO Aadit Palicha acknowledged the mistake publicly.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Protection | -against | primary | -1.00 |
| User Autonomy | -against | secondary | -0.50 |
| Overall incident score = | -0.166 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (high ×1.5) × confidence (0.59)× agency (compelled ×0.25)
Evidence (1 signal)
India's CCPA fined Zepto ₹7 lakh for using dark patterns including drip pricing and basket sneaking
In December 2024, India's Central Consumer Protection Authority fined Zepto ₹7 lakh for deploying dark patterns. The CCPA found Zepto's checkout-stage pricing caused consumers to pay more than MRP through hidden packaging charges. Zepto also added paid Zepto Pass membership to carts by default without explicit consent (basket sneaking) and used 'confirm shaming' by displaying 'No, I don't want to save' when users declined. CEO Aadit Palicha acknowledged the mistake publicly.