CCPA fines PhysicsWallah ₹5 Lakh for dark patterns; pre-ticked donation box netted ₹2.47 Cr from 21.36 Lakh users

India's consumer regulator penalised PhysicsWallah for a pre-ticked ₹10 donation checkbox and forced data collection on free courses. The dark pattern extracted ₹2.47 Cr from 21.36 Lakh users; opt-out hit 64% once unticked. McAfee was also fined ₹1 Lakh same day, with 15-day compliance window.

— Filed Thu, 4 Jun, 2026, 15:59 IST · Source Inc42 · Updated

CCPA fined PhysicsWallah ₹5 Lakh for dark patterns including pre-ticked donation checkbox that collected ₹2.47 Cr from 21.36 Lakh users, plus forced data collection on free courses. McAfee also fined ₹1 Lakh same day.

Why this matters

First major CCPA dark-pattern enforcement against an Indian edtech, signalling regulatory scrutiny of forced data collection and pre-ticked consent flows on free-tier courses.

Retail-brand theme steady at 910 signals in last 90 days.

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