The European Commission has proposed a Digital Fairness Act, part of a consumer package that it describes as the most significant upgrade of EU consumer protection law in over 20 years. The aim is simple: consumers should enjoy the same level of protection online as they do offline.
These are Commission proposals. Their content may still change during the legislative process before they become binding.
Why a new act?
The proposal builds on the Commission’s Digital Fairness Fitness Check of the three core consumer law directives: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive. The check found the rules still relevant, but not fully equipped for practices that have spread online, from manipulative interface design to subscription traps.
Main measures of the Digital Fairness Act
Simpler rules for businesses
A separate Simplification Directive would make targeted changes to the Consumer Rights Directive, for example simpler pre-contractual information for repeat in-app purchases and clearer rules on cancelling digital media subscriptions during the withdrawal period. The Commission expects businesses to benefit from simpler compliance and a more level playing field.
Stronger enforcement
The package also revises the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Regulation:
- the Commission would gain direct investigative powers in large-scale cases that significantly affect consumers across the Single Market;
- it could impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover;
- national authorities would have deadlines for key steps in cross-border cases, and penalties would be better coordinated;
- companies from outside the EU would have to appoint a legal representative in the EU.
What businesses should do now
The rules are not yet in force, but online businesses can already start preparing:
- review website and app design for pressure techniques and hard-to-find cancellation options;
- check how subscriptions, free trials and automatic renewals are presented and ended;
- review pricing displays, especially for virtual currencies and dynamic pricing;
- assess influencer partnerships and how commercial content is labelled;
- map any personalisation that could reach minors or rely on sensitive data.
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