The Indian regulatory authority – Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Department of Consumer Affairs within the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has fined McAfee, a global online safety and cybersecurity company, along with PhysicsWallah, an Indian edtech platform, for being involved in misleading advertisements and unfair trade practices. The two companies are said to have violated different provisions under the Consumer Protection Act of 2019, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, and the Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023.
Read more about the news below.
McAfee and PhysicsWallah Fined by CCPA for Misleading Advertisements
As per the details shared online, McAfee has been fined INR 100,000 by the Central Consumer Protection Authority, while PhysicsWallah has been fined with an amount of INR 500,000. The action has been taken against both companies with regard to misleading advertisements and practices that are said to have affected the free and informed decision-making of consumers.
Speaking more about PhysicsWallah, the company has been found to have violated Section 2(9), Section 2(28), and Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The violations are with regard to impairment of free and informed decision-making, misleading advertisement over ‘free courses’ without properly disclosing mandatory registration conditions, and unfair trade practices such as basket sneaking, confirm shaming, and forced action. It has also been pointed out that PhysicsWallah violated Rule 4(9) and Rule 4(3) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, as well as the Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023.
Coming to McAfee, the cybersecurity company has been found to have violated Section 2(28) and Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. The issue is said to be with regard to misleading advertisement through fear-based representation concerning the necessity of subscription renewal and the consequences of non-renewal. Along with this, deceptive and manipulative interface design promoting subscription renewals has also been listed under unfair trade practices.
McAfee has also been noted to have violated Rule 4(3) and Rule 4(9) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, which are related to unfair trade practices and the impairment of explicit and affirmative consumer consent. Under the Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023, the company is said to have been involved in confirm shaming, interface interference, trick question, and forced action.
It should also be noted that both companies have been directed to discontinue practices that undermine informed consumer consent.
