Big action against vendors of Amazon and Flipkart, ED raided 24 locations, what is the matter?

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday raided several vendors associated with e-commerce company Flipkart and Amazon at many places in the country over money laundering related activities. According to reports, ED has raided subsidiaries and vendors of top e-commerce companies across India. ED has raided about 24 places. Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru are prominent in this. According to sources, the ED investigation was going on related to alleged Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) regulations. The ED raids are aimed at finding evidence related to alleged money laundering activities that may be carried out through these online e-commerce platforms. At present no statement has been given by the e-commerce company regarding this.

Amazon and Flipkart have previously faced scrutiny in the country regarding their way of doing business. An investigation by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in September reportedly found that Amazon and Flipkart had violated local competition laws by favoring specific sellers on their platforms.

Investigation of complaints related to use of ‘dark pattern’

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs is also investigating several complaints related to the use of ‘dark patterns’ and plans to take action against online e-commerce companies violating consumer protection laws. The use of ‘dark patterns’ by online platforms has created controversy in India. These deceptive techniques mislead people into doing something they do not want to do, such as paying for goods or services they did not intend to purchase.

Guidelines issued to curb ‘dark patterns’

The Indian government recently released draft guidelines to curb ‘dark patterns’ used by large online platforms. With the aim of regulating ‘dark patterns’ on the internet and protecting customers from fake online reviews of products through safety provisions for users in the Digital India Act, the government has also issued a comprehensive set of guidelines.