All posts tagged: digital platforms

Zepto added handling charges, BookMyShow pulled up for ‘basket sneaking’: Why 9 platforms were penalised

Zepto added handling charges, BookMyShow pulled up for ‘basket sneaking’: Why 9 platforms were penalised

Published by Parlour News

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has penalised nine digital platforms, including IndiGo, Zepto, FirstCry, Physics Wallah and SpiceJet, for deploying “dark patterns” – deceptive user interface designs that manipulate consumer choices, the government told Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. Zepto delivery partners waiting for delivery orders. Aynan Shaikh, one of the Zepto delivery partners has alleged that new payout system is forcing them towards rash driving in order to achieve their targets, at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, June 10, 2023. (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO) The action is part of the consumer affairs department’s efforts to strengthen safeguards against unfair digital trade practices. Also Read | Zepto, IndiGo, and Physics Wallah among 9 platforms penalised for deceiving consumers 13 types of deceptive interface designs: False urgency, basket sneaking, drip pricing The Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns Guidelines, 2023 identifies and regulates 13 types of deceptive interface designs, including false urgency, basket sneaking, subscription traps, drip pricing, confirm shaming and trick questions, HT earlier reported. The CCPA issued an advisory in June 2025 …

Digital platforms must take responsibility for online content, safety of children: Vaishnaw| India News

Digital platforms must take responsibility for online content, safety of children: Vaishnaw| India News

Published by Parlour News

New Delhi, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday asserted that digital platforms must take responsibility for the content they host, stressing that ensuring the online safety of children and citizens is their obligation. Digital platforms must take responsibility for online content, safety of children: Vaishnaw Addressing the Digital News Publishers Association Conclave here, Vaishnaw said platforms need to “wake up” and understand the importance of reinforcing trust in the institutions that human society has built over thousands of years. “Platforms must take responsibility for the content that is hosted by them. The online safety of children, the online safety of all citizens is the responsibility of the platforms,” he said. The minister cautioned that non-adherence to these principles would make these platforms accountable, noting that the nature of the internet has changed now. He also underlined the need to regulate the use of AI-generated content, saying such material should not be generated without the consent of the person whose face, voice or personality is used. “The time has come to make that big inflectional change. …

Digital platforms must take responsibility for online content, safety of children: Vaishnaw| India News

Karnataka mulls ban on mobile phones for students below 16| India News

Published by Parlour News

The Karnataka government is considering prohibiting students under 16 from using mobile phones, with chief minister Siddaramaiah initiating consultations with vice chancellors of universities as part of an effort to address concerns about social media addiction and its effects on children. Karnataka mulls ban on mobile phones for students below 16 At the meeting convened by the Karnataka State Higher Education Council, Siddaramaiah said the proposal was still in the discussion stage and sought the vice chancellors’ views on whether restrictions should be imposed on minors. “Today we are discussing this, and as you are all the vice chancellors here, I seek your opinion. Children are falling prey to drugs. Also, in line with various other countries, like Australia, there is a thought to ban mobile phones among students. I want your opinion on this. We are looking at this,” he said. The chief minister indicated that the proposed measure would apply only to minors and would not affect adult students on campuses. He also instructed vice chancellors to take steps to ensure that educational …

Govt announces 26% increase in print ad rates

Govt announces 26% increase in print ad rates

Published by Parlour News

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B) announced on Monday that it has approved a 26% increase in the rates paid by the government for advertisements in print media. The new increase follows recommendations from the 8th Rate Structure Committee (RSC), set up in November 2021. (Representative file photo) The revised rates are meant to strengthen the revenue base of newspapers, especially as they face rising costs and growing competition from digital platforms, the government said. The rates are effective from December 1, 2025, an I&B official told HT. “Higher rates for government advertisements will provide essential revenue support to print media, especially in an era of competition from various other media platforms and in view of the escalation in cost in the last few years. This can help sustain operations, maintain quality journalism, and support local news initiatives,” said the government in a press release. Under the new structure, the rate for black-and-white ads in daily newspapers with a circulation of one lakh, has gone up from ₹47.40 to ₹59.68 per sq cm. The …

What the draft Digital Competition Bill proposes, why Big Tech opposes it | Explained News

Published by Parlour News

Taking a leaf out of the European regulatory handbook, India has proposed a new digital competition law that could stop tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon from self-preferencing their own services, or using data gathered from one company to benefit another group company. The draft law, called the Digital Competition Bill, 2024, also has provisions to set presumptive norms to curb anti-competitive practices before they actually take place, and promises to impose heavy penalties — which could amount to billions of dollars — for violations. If this were to go in force, it could require big tech companies to make fundamental changes to their various platforms. The proposal is similar to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which went into complete effect earlier this year, and requires large tech firms like Alphabet, Amazon and Apple to open their services, and not favour their own at the expense of rivals. The law came in on the back of a long history of anti-competitive practices by these companies. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), which is …

Ola, Uber, Dunzo, PharmEasy, Amazon Flex Others Provide Poor Working Conditions for Gig Workers: Report

Published by Webster

Five digital platforms — cab aggregators Ola and Uber, grocery delivery app Dunzo, pharmacy platform PharmEasy and Amazon Flex — have the lowest scores in a rating of digital platforms on the basis of providing fair working conditions for gig workers. The rating of 12 digital platforms was done by a Fairwork India team in association with the Oxford University. Fairwork evaluates the work conditions of digital labour platforms internationally. Fairwork India Ratings 2022 Report, which assessed platforms against five principles: Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management, and Fair Representation, found that Amazon Flex, Dunzo, Ola, PharmEasy and Uber scored zero out of 10 points. “This year, no platform scored more than seven out of the maximum of ten points, and none scored all the first points across the five principles,” the report said. The Fairwork India Ratings 2022 evaluated 12 platforms, including Amazon Flex, Big Basket, Dunzo, Flipkart, Ola, PharmEasy, Porter, Swiggy, Uber, Urban Company, Zepto and Zomato. Each of the five principles is broken down into two points: a first point …