Digital Fairness Act: EU Targets Subscription Traps and Dark Patterns
The EU Commission is expected to unveil its Digital Fairness Act draft, aiming to ban dark patterns, make subscriptions easier to cancel and curb loot boxes for minors.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesThe European Commission is expected to present its draft of the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) on Wednesday. The proposal is meant to rein in manipulative online sales tactics, misleading advertising claims and so-called dark patterns, according to details that surfaced ahead of the official launch.
What the draft would ban
The text lists dark patterns in detail: interfaces that make signing up easy but cancelling hard, or that bury prices and auto-renewal terms. Repeated prompts about a choice already made, confusing wording such as double negatives, fake scarcity notices at checkout, false popularity claims and artificial time pressure would also count as manipulative.
Subscription traps and addictive design would be classed as unfair commercial practices. Free trials could only convert into paid subscriptions with active consent. Customers would have to be reminded before an automatic renewal and could cancel at short notice at any time. Dynamic pricing, for example for concert tickets, would have to be shown more transparently.
Users should also be able to switch off features that encourage compulsive use, such as video autoplay, rewards for daily streaks or chatbot functions that simulate personal relationships.
Protection for minors and influencer rules
Personalised advertising aimed at children and teenagers would be banned. In video games, loot boxes and pay-to-win mechanics would be prohibited for minors, and virtual in-game currencies would be disabled by default and display their real-money value. Influencers would have to label promotions more clearly, and advertising for products harmful to young people or health would be barred.
Timeline and legal context
The DFA would replace the 2005 EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive with a regulation, so the rules would apply directly in all 27 member states. Parliament and the Council still have to negotiate the proposal. If they agree, the rules could become binding for businesses and traders by 2030 at the latest.
The act would complement the Digital Services Act, which sets standards for platforms on disinformation and illegal content but does not cover many online shops, apps and games. It would also supplement the Digital Markets Act, which regulates large platforms such as app stores and search engines.
Apps worth a look
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