Union Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi announced on Friday, 17 July 2026 that the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a penalty on SpiceJet for deploying deceptive 'dark patterns' on its flight booking platform and has directed the airline to permanently discontinue default-consent practices.

Context

Posting on X, Minister Joshi stated: 'Consumer choice must be informed, not manipulated.' He added that the CCPA's action 'reinforces that consumer consent must always be explicit, informed and freely given.' The post, tagged with #ConsumerProtection and the government's consumer-awareness handle @jagograhakjago, signals that the authority is actively enforcing its mandate against manipulative digital design in the travel sector.

Dark patterns are interface design techniques that nudge or trick users into actions they did not intend — such as pre-ticking boxes to add paid services during a booking flow without clear, affirmative consent from the user.

Policy Backdrop

The CCPA was established under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which replaced the decades-old 1986 legislation and specifically introduced provisions to address e-commerce and digital consumer rights. The 2019 law gave the authority powers to investigate unfair trade practices, issue directions, and impose penalties on businesses operating in the digital space.

In 2023, the CCPA notified the Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, explicitly cataloguing manipulative interface designs — including 'trick questions', 'hidden costs', and 'forced action' — that undermine informed consumer consent. The action against SpiceJet is among the more prominent enforcement steps taken under those guidelines in the aviation booking segment.

Since the 2019 consumer law overhaul, Indian regulators have increased enforcement against opaque digital design practices across e-commerce, travel, and service sectors, with the consistent principle that consent must be opt-in rather than opt-out.

Stakeholders and Impact

SpiceJet, one of India's established low-cost carriers, operates a high-volume online booking platform used by millions of passengers annually. The CCPA's direction to permanently discontinue default-consent practices means the airline must redesign any booking flow that automatically pre-selects paid add-ons or ancillary services unless the passenger explicitly chooses them.

For airline passengers and digital consumers broadly, the ruling sets a precedent: any service bundled into a booking without an affirmative user action constitutes a violation of consumer protection norms. Consumer-rights advocates have long flagged that default opt-ins inflate effective ticket prices and erode trust in online travel platforms.

The action also puts other airlines and online travel aggregators on notice. Similar enforcement actions have previously targeted online platforms in adjacent sectors for comparable interface violations, and the CCPA's stated mandate covers all digital commerce.

What's Next

Compliance with the CCPA's direction will require SpiceJet to audit and overhaul its booking interface to ensure every consent point is explicit and freely given. Failure to comply with CCPA orders can attract further penalties under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Regulators and consumer groups will watch whether the authority issues similar notices to other airlines and booking portals operating default-consent mechanisms. As India's digital consumer base continues to expand, enforcement of anti-dark-pattern norms is likely to intensify across all sectors where digital interfaces mediate consumer choice.