The Digital Fairness Act: what you need to know

Background: the Digital Fairness Fitness Check

The DFA follows the European Commission's comprehensive "Digital Fairness Fitness Check," published in October 2024. This evaluation assessed whether existing EU consumer protection legislation—primarily the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive—adequately protects consumers in digital environments.

The Commission's conclusion: while existing rules remain relevant, they do not fully address the challenges posed by recent technological developments.

Key problem areas identified

The Fitness Check identified five particularly problematic online practices:

1. Dark Patterns

Design techniques that manipulate consumers into making decisions they would not otherwise make. Examples include fake urgency claims ("only one room left!") and deceptive cookie banner designs.

2. Addictive Design

Digital services designed to encourage users to spend more time or money than intended, such as auto-playing videos, reward systems for continued use, or penalties for inactivity. The Commission notes particular risks for vulnerable consumers, including children.

3. Online Personalisation

Practices including behavioural advertising, personalised search results, and dynamic pricing. The Commission is concerned about businesses exploiting consumer vulnerabilities identified through personal data processing.

4. Social Media Influencers

Insufficient transparency around paid partnerships and commercial communications, as well as problematic content targeting children (e.g., advertising for unhealthy food, alcohol, or vaping products).

5. Subscription Traps

Difficulties consumers face when attempting to cancel online subscriptions, including automatic renewals, hidden charges after free trials, and unclear contract terms.

The cost of non-compliance

According to the Commission, these problematic practices cost EU consumers at least EUR 7.9 billion annually. By contrast, the total cost for businesses to comply with EU consumer law is estimated at no more than EUR 737 million—suggesting that enhanced regulation could deliver significant net benefits.

What we know about the DFA

Details remain limited, but here is what has been confirmed:

- Timeline: A proposal is expected by the end of 2026. A public consultation ran from 17 July 2025 to 24 October 2025, receiving 3,341 responses.

- Form: It remains unclear whether the DFA will be a regulation or directive. One possibility is an "omnibus directive" that amends existing EU legislation rather than creating standalone rules.

- Scope: The DFA is intended to complement existing frameworks including the Digital Services Act (DSA), Digital Markets Act (DMA), and AI Act.

Commissioner Michael McGrath, responsible for justice and consumer protection, has confirmed the DFA as a priority, describing it as the "missing puzzle piece" in the current digital consumer protection framework.

Industry and stakeholder reactions

Reactions to the proposed DFA have been mixed. Industry groups such as EuroCommerce have called for better enforcement of existing rules rather than new legislation. In the public consultation, large companies showed low support (ranging from 5% to 22%) for proposed measures on personalisation practices, while business associations similarly expressed caution, with many referring to existing legislation which they consider comprehensive. Consumer advocates strongly support stricter regulation. 

In the consultation, consumer associations backed measures including more control for consumers over personalised advertising (87%), restrictions on personalised advertising using information about vulnerabilities (87%), and prohibition of personalised advertising targeting minors (93%). Academic commentators have raised concerns about potential overregulation, overlap with existing rules, and enforcement complexity.

Some Member States are already positioning themselves. The Dutch government, for example, has indicated it will push for a ban on loot boxes in games to be included in the DFA. Notably, the largest share of consumer responses to the public consultation came from the Netherlands (38%).

Preparing for the DFA: key takeaways 

While the final shape of the DFA remains uncertain, businesses should consider the following steps:

1. Audit current practices: Review your use of dark patterns, personalisation techniques, and subscription models against the Commission's identified problem areas.
2. Monitor developments: Follow the upcoming public consultation and engage with industry associations to provide input.
3. Assess compliance frameworks: Consider how the DFA may interact with your existing DSA, DMA, and GDPR compliance programmes.
4. Review influencer partnerships: Ensure transparency requirements are being met in all commercial collaborations with content creators.

We will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as the legislative process progresses.

For more information on EU digital regulation, please contact our Technology team.