New plans from the EU Commission: The Digital Fairness Act

Digital business models, platform economies, and data-based distribution strategies are increasingly shaping the European consumer market. This is creating new requirements for the legal framework, particularly with regard to transparency, fairness, and enforceability. Against this backdrop, the European Commission is planning to introduce a Digital Fairness Act (DFA) to adapt existing consumer protection requirements to digital market conditions.

The following section explains the background and objectives of the DFA – based in particular on the Fitness Check on Digital Fairness published in 2024 – and assesses the likely impact on businesses.

I. Starting point

The initiative for the Digital Fairness Act stems directly from the Fitness Check of EU consumer law in the digital environment published by the European Commission in October 2024. The aim of this evaluation was to review the effectiveness of the existing directives – in particular the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), the Consumer Rights Directive (CRD) and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD) – in light of current digital market conditions.

The Commission concludes that, despite their principle-based and technology-neutral design, the existing rules are not sufficient in practice to effectively address new digital business models and problematic market practices. In particular, it has become apparent that manipulative interface designs, non-transparent termination processes, and algorithmically driven contract conclusions are increasingly causing consumer harm. According to the Commission's estimates, the financial damage suffered by consumers in the digital space has almost doubled since 2017. At the same time, there is a lack of clear legal standards and consistent enforcement within Member States, which leads to legal uncertainty for both consumers and businesses.

The Digital Fairness Act aims to address these gaps and create a coherent, enforceable legal framework for digital consumer protection. The focus is not on a fundamental overhaul of consumer law, but rather on adapting it to current digital challenges.

II. Legal framework of the DFA

The Digital Fairness Act is designed as a targeted further development of existing EU consumer protection law. It is intended to build on existing directives – in particular the UCPD, CRD, and UCTD – and supplement them with specific requirements for the digital context. Unlike sector-specific legislation such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA) or the AI Act, the DFA takes a cross-sectoral approach. It aims to ensure that consumer rights remain enforceable regardless of the business model used or the technological design. The goal is a consistent legal framework that guarantees digital and analog consumer protection standards equally.

The regulatory proposal focuses on specific problem areas identified in the fitness check. These include, in particular, combating manipulative design elements in digital user interfaces ("dark patterns"), for example in the design of ordering and cancellation processes. The DFA is intended to define clear criteria for when interface design is inadmissible, going beyond the existing general clauses of the UCPD.

Another focus is on the transparency of personalized business models. The increasing use of user data for personalized advertising, pricing, and product recommendations raises questions about the fairness of data-driven decision-making processes. The DFA is intended to introduce more precise information requirements in this regard and ensure that consumers can understand whether and in what form personalization takes place.

Automated contract conclusion, for example through AI-supported systems or chatbots, is also a focus. The aim here is to ensure transparency and withdrawal options, especially if no conscious declaration of intent is made in the traditional sense. In addition, requirements for the design of digital subscription models and the easy exercise of termination rights are planned.

Finally, strengthening enforcement is a key concern. The DFA is intended to help increase consistency between member states and make existing instruments – such as those within the CPC Network (Consumer Protection Cooperation Network – a network of national enforcement authorities for consumer protection in cross-border shopping within the EU) or the Directive on representative actions – more effective.

III. Impact on businesses

For companies offering digital products or services in the B2C sector, the Digital Fairness Act is likely to result in increased compliance requirements. Although the DFA does not represent a complete overhaul of consumer law, it will lead to a clarification and extension of existing obligations in several key areas, particularly where general clauses have been applied to date.

A key area of action will be the design of digital user interfaces. In future, companies will have to ensure that design elements such as buttons, selection processes, and cancellation functions are not misleading, overly complex, or manipulative. This applies in particular to the design of ordering processes, cookie banners, subscription models, and consent processes. Existing UX designs will therefore have to be revised in many cases in order to meet the desired standards of transparency and fairness.

In addition, new information requirements for personalized offers are likely to be added. Companies that use algorithmic systems for pricing or offer design must expect stricter transparency requirements – both with regard to the use of personal data and the criteria used to generate recommendations or rankings. This also requires close cooperation between legal, IT, and product departments.

In addition, there may be a need to adapt automated contract conclusion processes, for example in the context of chatbots or voice-activated assistants. Companies will have to check whether their systems meet the requirements for effective declarations of intent, clarity of information, and withdrawal options.

Last but not least, increased control by authorities and associations is to be expected. The DFA is likely to enhance existing enforcement instruments such as the CPC network or collective enforcement mechanisms. Companies should prepare themselves for the fact that digital processes will increasingly be the subject of coordinated enforcement measures and judicial review in the future.

IV. Conclusion

The Digital Fairness Act marks a targeted further development of European consumer protection law, which responds in particular to digital market practices. For companies, this does not result in a fundamentally new regulatory regime, but rather in the need to review existing digital processes, user interfaces, and data-based business models for their compatibility with legal requirements that will be specified in the future.

In areas such as interface design, the use of personalized offers, and the use of automated systems, detailed regulations are to be expected, the interpretation and implementation of which will require company-specific assessments. In order to identify potential risks in good time and address any need for adjustment, it is advisable to monitor developments early and systematically – ideally in collaboration between product development, data protection, IT, and legal departments. This will not only create regulatory certainty, but also give companies a competitive advantage in the increasingly regulated digital single market.