DARK PATTERNS AND CONSENT FATIGUE UNDER DPDP: IS ‘CONSENT’ EVEN MEANINGFUL ANYMORE?

In this paper, it is evaluated how consent under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) of India continues to be significant in light of dark patterns and consent fatigue. While it is true that the Act aims to secure voluntary, informed and clear consent of the users, manipulations in design and constant request for consent may result in an invalidation of such consent. The paper suggests that the DPDP approach is highly procedural as far as it pertains to consent, whereas important structural and behavioural aspects of consent remain unaddressed. The paper demonstrates the necessity of regulating consent interface more extensively, increasing accountability of Data Fiduciaries and moving beyond procedural to substantive consent.