After pulling up ride-hailing apps and restaurants, the Department of Consumer Affairs Ministry is next looking at issues and consumer complaints concerning ed-tech players.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Friday said that the Ministry will soon hold a meeting with ed-tech players. “We are totally aware about concerns raised regarding ed-tech firms. We have called for a meeting with the industry players to discuss these issues. We believe we need to protect the interest of young consumers. So we will look at formulating a framework to check on exaggerated claims that put undue pressure on children.”

Late last month, the DoCA had also held a meeting with e-commerce players and consumer organisations besides ASCI on the issue of fake reviews on the online platforms.

“We held a comprehensive meeting with them on the fake reviews issue. We have now formed a committee consisting of Ministry officials and industry representatives to work on guidelines to tackle the issue. We will also look at how these challenges are dealt with in other geographies. Hopefully, in the next 60 days the committee will come up with a framework to check on fake reviews on online portals,” Singh added.

In recent times, the Ministry has also held consultations with the restaurant industry on the service charge issue. Meanwhile, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has also sent notices to ride-hailing apps for violation of consumer rights and unfair trade practices. It has pulled up ride-hailing players for lack of adequate consumer grievance process among other issues.

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