EU proposes Digital Fairness Act to curb dark patterns, subscription traps and loot boxes

A broad consumer protection package

On Wednesday, 11 November, the European Commission presented the Digital Fairness Act (DFA), a proposal to strengthen consumer rules online. EU Commissioner Michael McGrath called it the most significant reform of European consumer protection law in more than 20 years. He expects the measures to save consumers up to 13.7 billion euros a year. The draft targets dark patterns, the interface designs that steer shoppers into choices they did not intend to make. Before any of it becomes law, the European Parliament and the Council of Member States must still deliberate on the text, which AFP had received in advance.

Cancellations, scarcity and ticket prices

Under the proposal, cancelling a contract must not be significantly harder than signing up, and a few clicks should be enough. Companies would no longer be allowed to use guilt-trip wording in cancellation screens. Invented scarcity tactics, such as a notice reading 'Only 2 left available', would be banned. For concert tickets, sellers would have to state how many seats are sold at the entry price and at the maximum price. The rule is meant to curb gouging under dynamic pricing, where prices shift with demand, timing or the number of seats left. Consumer advocates doubt that such scarcity figures are accurate in the first place.

Social media, influencers and games

People on social media would be able to switch off endless scrolling and autoplay for individual apps. The Commission is already investigating TikTok and Instagram under the Digital Services Act for possible violations, and it accuses the platforms of not doing enough against addictive design. Separately, the EU is negotiating a social media ban for children. Influencers would have to label each paid post on its own, regardless of their follower count, and would face the same rules as companies, including a ban on promoting illegal goods such as vapes to minors. In video games, virtual currency would be switched off by default for minors, and games would have to display its value in euros. Loot boxes, paid random packs that unlock weapons or characters, would be banned for minors, and the draft says they could be activated only with parental consent. Games aimed at children and teenagers could not sell paid items that speed up progress.

Human customer service and next steps

Anyone with a contract would always have the right to speak to a human about a problem. The Commission wants to ban customer service run solely by artificial intelligence or other automated technology. Consumers would keep all their rights even when a company uses such systems. The proposal now moves to the European Parliament and the Council, which must still deliberate on the draft.