The Digital Fairness Act in sight

The European Commission is preparing a new legislative initiative: the Digital Fairness Act (DFA). The DFA is intended to strengthen consumer protection online and address practices that existing EU consumer laws do not sufficiently capture. A legislative proposal is expected in Q4 2026.

For businesses active in digital markets, the DFA signals a further shift towards stricter expectations around fairness, transparency, protection of minors, (addictive) design and personalisation practices.

In October 2024, the European Commission published the Digital Fairness Fitness Check, assessing the effectiveness of key EU consumer law instruments in digital markets, including the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive. The Commission concluded that these frameworks do not fully address certain practices and announced the preparation of the DFA in its 2030 Consumer Agenda, published in November 2025.

The European Commission has indicated that the DFA will focus on problematic practices commonly seen in digital products and services, including:

• Manipulative interface design (so‑called dark patterns)
• Addictive or exploitative design features, particularly where they affect minors or vulnerable users;
• Unfair personalisation and targeting, including practices that take advantage of consumers’ behavioural or psychological vulnerabilities;
• Subscription and cancellation barriers, where consumers face disproportionate obstacles when trying to end a service;
• Lack of transparency in influencer and online marketing, especially where commercial relationships are not clearly disclosed.

The European Commission is also planning to revise the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, which will impact and potentially adjust existing cooperation mechanisms between national authorities. 

The DFA will not operate in isolation. It is expected to complement and interact with existing EU regulations of digital markets, such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), the GDPR, and the AI Act, thereby intensifying the regulation for digital services and platforms.

While the DFA is still in the legislative pipeline, it's clear that the DFA will have implications not only for legal compliance but also for product design, marketing strategies, data use, and partnerships with third parties (e.g. platforms).

Our Commercial, Competition & Trade team advises clients on the full spectrum of regulations governing digital markets and online business. We offer support with:

• Translating regulatory developments into clear, practical guidance, audits, gap analysis and implementation strategies;
• Advising on how new rules may interact with existing compliance frameworks;
• Advising on risk areas in digital design, marketing, and monetisation models;
• Supporting businesses in future‑proofing commercial and legal strategies ahead of new EU legislations;
• Representing clients in investigations or RFIs by authorities and discussions with industry stakeholders.