In brief

• The European Commission has presented the Digital Fairness Act, a draft designed to curb unfair practices online.
• Companies may face fines of up to 6% of their global annual turnover.
• The draft covers hidden fees, difficult subscription cancellations, apps and lootboxes, and still needs to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Member States.

Fines of up to 6% of turnover and new rights

On 11 November, the European Commission presented the draft Digital Fairness Act. Businesses that use unfair commercial practices online may be fined up to 6% of their global annual turnover (Digital Fairness Act, czyli nowe prawo konsumenckie w erze AI – Prawo.pl) (Digital Fairness Act: Mehr Rechte für Verbraucher im Internet – FAZ.NET).

False time pressure and hidden fees

The draft targets so-called dark patterns, interface designs that push buyers toward quick decisions. These include messages about allegedly running-out stock and countdown timers. The act would prohibit automatically adding products to the cart and adding hidden fees at the final stage of an order (Can the EU make it harder to trick consumers online? – DW) (UE bierze pod but e-commerce. Kaganiec na algorytmy cenowe i koniec fikcyjnych „ostatnich sztuk” – Bankier.pl). Online shop customers would also have the right to contact a human agent, not only an automated chat.

Subscriptions and free trials

Under the proposal, companies would have to remind customers when a free trial is ending and obtain explicit consent before charging the first fee. Cancelling a service could not be clearly harder than signing up for it, and reminders would have to appear before the automatic renewal of certain contracts (Mniej profilowanych reklam i ukrytych kosztów internetowych zakupów. Projekt Komisji Europejskiej – Rzeczpospolita). The rules would also cover streaming services and apps (Loot boxes, influencers, and addictive features face an EU crackdown – The Verge).

Apps, lootboxes and influencers

The Commission wants to limit series of daily tasks that force users to return under threat of losing their progress, as well as intrusive notifications. Language-learning platforms and fitness apps are cited as examples (В ЕС хотят ограничить Duolingo, Strava и другие популярные приложения с «вредными цифровыми практиками» – Meduza) ("Ще одне заняття – і спати": ЄС хоче покласти край хитрощам Duolingo – UNIAN). Lootboxes in games are also in the crosshairs, especially for younger users (Усиленная защита. ЕС хочет запретить лутбоксы для детей и манипулятивные механики в приложениях – NV). The draft also tightens the rules on undisclosed advertising by influencers.

What it means for businesses

For entrepreneurs, this means reviewing shop interfaces, the ordering process, how fees are calculated, and procedures for cancelling services. The draft is at the proposal stage. It must be adopted by the European Parliament and the Member States before it can enter into force.