Signing up for an online subscription usually takes one click. Leaving can take a hunt through menus, a phone call or a renewal you never saw coming. That gap is one of the problems the European Commission wants to close with a Digital Fairness Act, a proposal to update EU consumer law for apps, games and online shops.
According to a briefing by the European Parliamentary Research Service, written by David Ashton and Maria Niestadt and published on 5 October, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen confirmed the act in her State of the Union speech in September, and current information places the proposal in mid-November. The Commission’s 2026 work programme lists it for the fourth quarter of the year. No legal text has been published yet.
Rules written before the app economy
The EU’s core consumer laws date from before infinite scroll, in-game currencies and influencer advertising. A Commission review in 2024, known as a fitness check, found those laws still relevant but only partly effective online, and blamed weak enforcement, legal uncertainty and differences between member states. The research service notes that the review put the harm to consumers at €7.9 billion and called that figure conservative.
The everyday experience behind the number is familiar. In the consultation for that review, 69% of respondents said they had struggled to cancel an online contract and 62% had seen a subscription renewed without a reminder, the briefing reports. The review found the greatest harm among younger consumers.
What the act is expected to cover
The Commission’s own page on the initiative names six areas: dark patterns, meaning interface designs that steer people into choices they would not otherwise make; addictive design; unfair personalisation; misleading marketing by influencers; unfair price marketing; and problems with digital contracts. It also says protecting vulnerable consumers, particularly minors, is a key focus, and that the act should simplify rules for businesses.
The research service adds detail on the options under discussion. Addictive design covers features such as autoplay, endless feeds and reward notifications. Pricing questions include dynamic and personalised prices, which are legal but raise concerns about transparency. In-game currencies and loot boxes, randomised paid rewards in video games, are under scrutiny because of their gambling-like mechanics for children.
Part of the case is about gaps rather than new territory. The Digital Services Act already bans manipulative interfaces and targeted advertising to minors on online platforms, but the briefing points out that its protections do not reach some traders, smaller companies and services such as certain video games. A single consumer rule could cover the same practice wherever it appears.
One rulebook, two camps
The Commission expects to base the act on Article 114 of the EU treaty, the legal basis for harmonising the single market. For companies operating across Europe, that could mean one standard instead of 27 national interpretations of the same practice. Whether the act takes the form of a regulation or a directive has not been settled.
The debate ahead is real. The legislative tracker records that consumer organisations want tighter rules, while platforms such as TikTok argued for very limited intervention. According to the research service, an industry statement in March urged the Commission to “pause and reset” the initiative and to enforce existing law first. Consumer groups, including the European consumer organisation BEUC, want addictive features switched off by default and exploitative dark patterns banned.
Member states broadly support stronger protection online but warn against overlap with existing digital law. Coherence is a practical concern: the proposed EU Kids Act, put forward in September, would restrict reward mechanics for minors on social media but not in online games, a difference the research service says could confuse.
The November proposal will be the first chance to see how the Commission balances those demands. After that, the European Parliament and the member states in the Council will each have to agree their positions before the act can become law.
