European Union: European Commission closes consultation on Digital Fairness Act

On 9 October 2025, the European Commission closes the consultation on the Digital Fairness Act. The consultation supports the preparation of the impact assessment aimed at addressing gaps and legal uncertainties in consumer protection online, in complementarity with existing digital legislation. The Act aims to establish requirements to address practices such as manipulative interface design (dark patterns), addictive features of digital products, particularly those impacting minors, problematic personalisation techniques exploiting consumer vulnerabilities, and commercial conduct by influencers lacking adequate disclosure. It also addresses pricing practices that may mislead consumers, including drip pricing and ambiguous promotional discounts, as well as challenges with digital contracts, such as automatic renewals, complex cancellation processes, and reliance on chatbots for customer service. Stakeholders are also invited to provide information on potential simplification measures concerning recurring transactions and the consumer right of withdrawal. The protection of minors is identified as a transversal objective. The consultation further assesses how tools such as the EU Digital Identity and European Business Wallets could facilitate implementation.