EU proposes Digital Fairness Act to curb dark patterns and simplify cancellations

The European Commission has presented a new law called the Digital Fairness Act to update consumer protection rules for online services. The proposal targets practices such as dark patterns, dynamic pricing and complicated subscription cancellation processes.

The law would ban deceptive design elements that manipulate consumers into choices that benefit the provider. Companies would no longer be allowed to use phrases such as “we are sad to see you leave” when a customer tries to cancel a contract.

“Europe should not accept a digital economy where profits depend on exploiting people’s vulnerabilities.”

Cancelling a subscription must not be significantly more difficult than signing up for one. The Commission says a few clicks should be enough to end an agreement.

Artificial scarcity claims, such as “only two items left,” would be prohibited. For concert tickets, sellers would have to state how many seats are available at the entry price and at the maximum price.

The proposal also addresses dynamic pricing, where ticket prices change based on demand, time or available seats. Consumer groups say current rules dating back to 2005 are not clear enough to stop these practices.

Companies that violate the new law could face fines of up to 6 percent of their global annual revenue. The rules would apply to any business offering services to consumers in the EU.

EU Commissioner Michael McGrath called the proposal the most significant overhaul of European consumer protection law in more than 20 years. He estimated the measures could save EU consumers up to 13.7 billion euros per year.