The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India in collaboration with IIT (BHU), launched Dark Patterns Buster Hackathon 2023 here today.

• The deliverables of the Hackathon will be to design & prototype innovative app or software based solutions such as;  browser extensions,  plugins, add-ons, mobile applications etc. that can detect the use, type and scale of dark patterns for e-Commerce platforms.
• The launch event was attended by law Institutes, Higher Educational Institutes, experts from national and International Academia, students, various companies and e-commerce platforms in both physical and online mode.
• The Hackathon is divided into following four stages/rounds:

1. Round 1- Registration of participant Teams and Host Institutes
2. Round 2- Intra Institute DPBH 2023 to be organized
3. Round 3- Inter Institute DPBH 2023 to be organized and
4. Round 4- Distribution of awards and prizes on World Consumer Rights Day

• The winners will be rewarded with a Certificate of Achievement and the Prize money in the following order; 1st prize of INR 10 lacs, 2nd prize of INR 5 lacs, 3rd prize of INR 3 lacs, 4th prize of INR 2 lacs and 5th price of INR 1 lac respectively.

The objective of the initiative is to provide protection to consumers from all types of unfair trade practices.