CCPA Order on PhysicsWallah: Dark Patterns, Consent Violations and Misleading “Free Courses”

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has, on a suo motu basis, examined and penalised the conduct of PhysicsWallah Limited in relation to the design and operation of its ed‑tech platform. The Authority found multiple “dark pattern” practices which, in its view, resulted in unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements and infringement of consumer rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and allied instruments.

The order addresses three core issues:

  1. A pre-ticked donation checkbox – “Donate for PW Foundation” – auto‑adding a fixed donation to the cart (termed “Basket Sneaking”).
  2. Mandatory disclosure of personal information to access courses advertised as “free” (termed “Forced Action” and “Interface Interference”).
  3. Emotionally loaded donation messaging that induced guilt or moral pressure to keep the donation (termed “Confirm Shaming”).

Based on the investigation and hearing, the CCPA directed PhysicsWallah to discontinue the impugned practices, held them to be in violation of several provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, and the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, and imposed a monetary penalty of ₹5,00,000.

Background: Suo Motu Action by CCPA

The matter arose from a suo motu proceeding initiated by the CCPA against PhysicsWallah Limited (referred to as the opposite party in the order), concerning the following alleged dark patterns on its website (www.pw.live) and mobile application:

  • Basket Sneaking: A pre-selected checkbox “Donate for PW Foundation” during checkout that automatically added ₹10 to the payable amount unless manually removed.
  • Forced Action & Interface Interference: Requiring users to share personal details (such as mobile number and email ID) and mandatorily sign up/log in to access content marketed as “free courses”.
  • Confirm Shaming: Display of emotionally persuasive donation descriptions when users clicked “Know More”, citing causes such as marriages of needy persons, children’s education and healthcare for disadvantaged communities, which could guilt users into retaining the donation.

The CCPA, exercising its powers under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, undertook a preliminary scrutiny of these features and recorded prima facie concerns regarding compliance with consumer protection standards and the newly notified dark pattern guidelines.

The Authority anchored its analysis on the following provisions and instruments:

  • Consumer Protection Act, 2019

    • Section 2(9) – definition of consumer rights.
    • Section 2(28) – “misleading advertisement”.
    • Section 2(47) – “unfair trade practice”.
    • Section 10 – establishment of the CCPA.
    • Section 18 – powers of CCPA to protect and enforce consumer rights.
    • Section 19(1) – power to order investigation by the Director General (Investigation).

  • Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020

    • Rule 4(3) – e-commerce entities not to adopt any unfair trade practice.
    • Rule 4(9) – consent must be obtained through explicit and affirmative action; no pre-ticked checkboxes permitted.

  • Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023

    • Definitions and prohibition of:
      • “Basket sneaking”
      • “Confirm shaming”
      • “Forced action”

The CCPA also kept in view the Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022 while examining the “free courses” claim and donation messaging.

PhysicsWallah’s Initial Response to CCPA Notice

Upon receiving notice dated 04.12.2025, PhysicsWallah submitted an email reply dated 18.12.2025, broadly contending: