Duolingo, Strava, and Ticketmaster Are All Caught Up in EU’s New Digital Fairness Rules
The European Commission announced sweeping updates to consumer law on Wednesday, including the Digital Fairness Act to protect EU citizens from harmful digital practices.
The European Commission announced a sweeping set of updates to consumer law on Wednesday to protect European Union citizens from "harmful digital practices"—whether while online shopping, browsing social media, or doing their Duolingo lesson. Within the package, the Commission unveiled its Digital Fairness Act to address harmful practices online.
Key Provisions
Proposed rules include banning dark patterns—practices which manipulate consumers into making decisions they would not otherwise make, such as falsely claiming a product is running low. They will also curb dynamic pricing by ticket retailers, like Ticketmaster; force influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product; and outrule personalized advertising and pricing targeting minors or taking advantage of sensitive data.
The legislation will make digital subscriptions easier to cancel and give consumers a right to interact with human customer service. The bill will also enable all consumers to turn off addictive design features on digital services, such as autoplay of videos and streaks—including on apps like Strava and Duolingo.
The digital fairness act will make sure the digital economy works for consumers and not against them.
Broader Context
Some of these patterns the EU has already restricted for children through its Kids Act, which in addition to banning under-13s from accessing social media and chatbots, targets addictive designs in those services. Some European rights groups have called for those protections to be extended to all consumers.
President Ursula von der Leyen said in September's State of the Union address: "But it is not only minors who are at risk. Addictive design, for example, is harming everyone. That is why we need a wider framework." The new regulation is designed to fill the gaps between this, the Digital Markets Act, and August's AI Act, says executive vice president Henna Virkkunen, "not duplicate this."
The Commission aims to accelerate cross-border cooperation through strengthened enforcement rules. These would also give the regulator direct powers to investigate large-scale impact and fine firms up to 6 percent of their worldwide annual turnover. Non-EU companies would be required to appoint a local legal representative to cooperate with authorities.
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