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Digital Fairness Law: How the EU wants to protect consumers on the Internet
The EU Commission promises the end of subscription traps and other manipulative tricks in the online world with its new law for digital fairness, which updates consumer protection. But
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The EU Commission promises the end of subscription traps and other manipulative tricks in the online world with its new law for digital fairness, which updates consumer protection. But one of the rules could become the new cookie banner in practice. Some restrictions should only apply to minors.
Today the EU Commission has thehttps://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_2407">DigitalFairness Act (DFA)presented. The proposal envisages replacing the current EU directive on unfair commercial practices with a regulation directly applicable in all EU member states. From the EU Commission's perspective, the DFA gives consumer law the update it needs for the digital world. But what is actually in it?
A key aspect of the law is the ban on the manipulative design of offers. The text defines “dark patterns” as surfaces designed to deceive or manipulate consumers. As an example, Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen cited the false claim when shopping online that “only five items are available”.
The Commission will list prohibited practices. In order to adapt to new developments, the Commission gives itself the power in the proposed law to add new practices through delegated acts in the future.
Stop addictive design
Consumers should be able to eliminate addictive properties. These include features that may lead to excessive or compulsive use: endless scrolling, autoplaying videos, daily streaks, or misleading push notifications. Here too, the Commission is leaving the option open to add further features via future legal acts.
Many criticize that the Commission has chosen an opt-out rather than an opt-in logic. Social Democratic MEP Katarina Barley demands that such functions should be switched off by default. “It is not enough to shift the responsibility to the users and require them to switch off such functions themselves,” she says.
The Kids Act, which the Commissionhttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/eu-kids-act-eu-kommission-will-netz-mit-alt...presented in September, prohibits such features for children. When asked why the rule should not also apply to adults, Commissioner Virkkunen explained that although the addictive design could also be harmful to adults, many adults would like the features. As an example, she gave “streaks” for doing sports or learning languages. Such apps count how many days in a row users have used the app. Anyone who becomes inactive loses their “streak”. A well-known example is the language app Duolingo. The Commission wants to give users the choice to use or disable such features. The option for this must be “very visible,” said Virkkunen.
As visible as the cookie banners these days? That's what Green MP Kim van Sparrentak, who will negotiate the DFA for her parliamentary group, fears. In practice, the regulation will develop into a new “stupid cookie banner”,https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/imco-committee-mee...Van Sparrentak on Mondayin the Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) of the European Parliament. By this she means that when users visit a website or app, they always have to choose which addictive properties they accept or reject. The politician also pointed out that the tech companies had wanted exactly this opt-out logic and warned of a “historic mistake”.
For minors only
Itxaso Domínguez de Olazábal from the NGO European Digital Rights (Edri) also expected more. With a view to thehttps://netzpolitik.org/2026/rabbit-hole-effekt-eu-kommission-haelt-tikt...the EU Commissionabout TikTok's harmful recommendation system almost a week ago, she questions why similar business practices should remain throughout the digital economy without equally clear regulations.
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She also criticizes the fact that some restrictions should only apply to minors. In her view, practices that harm everyone should be banned for everyone and additional protection measures should be taken for children where really necessary. Measures only for minors also led to age checks being needed in more places, which the NGO views critically.
The Digital Fairness Act prohibits minors from personalizing advertising and, if doing so would likely harm them, prices. Even for adults, no sensitive data may be used for personalized advertising. However, this remains a “legitimate business model,” a Commission official made clear to journalists. Prices must also not be personalized for “vulnerable” consumers if doing so is likely to harm them.
In some places, the law distinguishes between the “average” and “vulnerable” consumers – categories that are fundamentally called into question in the digital environment. MP Christel Schaldemose (S&D) said on Monday: “Most of us can be scammed online, we are all at risk.” The MP from the liberal Renew group Jeannette Baljeu made a similar statement.
Video games and influencers
Video games should also be paid forhttps://netzpolitik.org/tag/Lootboxen/">Lootboxes,https://www.ins-netz-gehen.de/info/glossar/konzept/pay-to-win/">Pay-to-w...and virtual currencies for minors are stopped. Adults should be able to deactivate them. Influencers should not make direct purchase requests to minors. Overall, the EU Commission specifies in its proposal how influencers must label advertising content and, in addition to the already established term “advertising”, also proposes the term “commercial cooperation”. Influencers should not be allowed to advertise dangerous products.
The NGO Finance Watch sees gaps in the marketing of financial products here. So-called “finfluencers” often have no expertise, do not sufficiently point out risks and mix tips with paid advertising, like onehttps://www.finance-watch.org/policy-portal/digital-finance/dark-pattern...the organizationrecently held.
Other rules concern subscriptions. The cancellation button that already exists in Germany is to be introduced across Europe. Anyone who tests an offer for free should be reminded of this before the end of the expiry and have to agree to an extension.
In addition, the bill introduces the right to contact a human in customer service. This applies to consumers who have purchased a product or service.
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Penalties of up to six percent of global annual turnover can be imposed for violations of the Digital Fairness Act. The same rule applies to the Digital Services Act (DSA), for example.
Do we still need a digital law?
Several business associations criticize the creation of a new digital law that overlaps with existing European laws and thereby creates new legal uncertainty and problems with implementation.
The Commission argued today, however, that there have been different rules in the various EU countries and that the DFA is creating a uniform set of rules for all 27 member states. The Commission also took great care to avoid overlaps. Aspects that are already covered for minors by the planned Kids Act are explicitly excluded from the DFA.
The Commission also emphasized that online platforms regulated by the Digital Services Act will not have to deal with new authorities. Instead, Meta, TikTok and Co. will also be regulated by the DSA bodies for the new DFA obligations.
The EPP group in the EU Parliament, which includes the German CDU and CSU, also criticizes new commitments. In her opinion, the DFA should simplify the existing regulations and create clarity. Germany also pushed for a few changes in advance. Spain, Portugal and Denmark, however, recently spoke out in favor of an “ambitious Digital Fairness Act”.
The law is now being negotiated in the Parliament and Council of the Member States.
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