Overview
- The European Commission has published a draft Digital Fairness Act that would outlaw deceptive design known as dark patterns and require platforms to let users switch off addictive features such as autoplay.
- The draft tightens rules on influencer marketing, bans pay-to-win mechanics for minors, forces virtual currencies in games to show real-world value and demands clearer price and subscription information with easy cancel options and human after-sales support.
- The law would cover any business offering online services to EU consumers and would allow fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover for serious breaches, mirroring penalties under the Digital Services Act.
- Consumer groups praised the draft as a needed update to decades-old consumer rules while industry lobbyists warned it risks duplicating existing law and some NGOs and lawmakers said parts of the proposal, such as dynamic pricing limits and default opt-outs for addictive features, lack sufficient ambition.
- If adopted, the DFA could shift responsibility from users to companies by forcing safer default designs, change how apps, games and platforms monetize users, and trigger months of political negotiations in Brussels over scope and enforcement details.