European Commission proposes Digital Fairness Act
The proposed EU consumer rules include fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover. The European Parliament and member states must agree before the act can become law.
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The European Commission formally presented its proposed Digital Fairness Act in Brussels on 11 November 2026, setting out consumer protections for digital commerce. The proposal followed a draft that Reuters saw and described on 9 November.
The proposal provides for fines of up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover for unfair digital trade practices.
The Commission says the practices it wants to address, including subscription traps and misleading influencer marketing, cost consumers billions of euros a year. The proposal includes unified transparency requirements for influencers. Michael McGrath, the European commissioner responsible for democracy, justice, the rule of law and consumer protection, said at a Wednesday press conference that the rules would help businesses compete on their products and services rather than their ability to exploit consumers or evade rules.
Online sales and subscriptions
The proposal would ban dark patterns: deceptive or manipulative website and app designs that steer people into buying more. The precise list of banned practices remains to be defined, and the Commission could expand it.
A free trial could turn into a paid contract only with the consumer’s express agreement. Businesses would have to explain when trials end and provide information on termination and renewal. Companies offering contracts online would also have to provide online cancellation and withdrawal functions, making cancellation as easy as signing up.
Consumers would be able to disable features that encourage excessive use, such as autoplay and login rewards. Businesses providing online support after a contract is made would have to let customers reach a human on request.
The proposal would prohibit targeting minors based on profiling. GamesIndustry.biz reports that equivalent prohibitions already exist under other laws. It would also prohibit profiling-based personalised pricing reasonably likely to harm minors or vulnerable consumers.
Games and protections for minors
Companies would have to display the real-money value of paid virtual currencies. For products directed at minors, those currencies would be disabled by default and activated only with a parent or guardian’s approval. The proposal defines a minor as someone under 18.
Paid loot boxes, which give buyers variable rewards, could not be offered to minors. Where adults can buy them, companies would have to disclose the types of items available and the chances of getting them, and provide tools to turn the systems off.
The proposal would also prohibit purchases for minors that are necessary, or presented as necessary, to progress or succeed in a game or app. GamesIndustry.biz said the consequences for games played by both adults and minors remain unsettled. It also identified an open question over whether disabling virtual currency would cover only buying it or also using it in a game.
Response and next steps
Some businesses have criticized overlap with existing laws and a proposed child-safety plan. GamesIndustry.biz separately reports industry concerns that some requirements cannot reasonably be implemented. Peter Norwood, a senior research and advocacy officer at Finance Watch, said the dark-pattern proposals went in the right direction but did not go far enough to protect financial-services consumers investing online.
The Parliament and EU member states must negotiate and agree on the proposal in the coming months. If adopted as proposed, the regulation would apply directly across member states, with its obligations taking effect 12 months after it enters into force.
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