The Digital Fairness Act (DFA) is a legislative proposal by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. Michael McGrath, EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, will be responsible for this legislation under

Ursula von der Leyen Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...

's second Commission. The legislation will tackle

dark patterns A dark pattern (also known as a "deceptive design pattern") is a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying overpriced insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills. User exp ...

, personalisation, contracts, and

influencer marketing Influencer marketing (also known as influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, individuals and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or so ...

. The Commission has stated that there will be a 12-week long public consultation starting in late spring 2025, and the Digital Fairness Act will be proposed by the Commission in the third quarter of 2026.

Timeline

* 13 November 2020: The EU Commission states that "consumers should benefit from a comparable level of protection and fairness online as they enjoy offline" in New Consumer Agenda. * 22 February 2021: The

Council of the EU The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and less formally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

adopts conclusions on New Consumer Agenda. * 12 December 2023: The

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

adopts resolution on Addictive design of online services and consumer protection in the EU single market. * 3 October 2024: EU Commission publishes final report on the Digital fairness fitness check. * 5 November 2024: Commissioner-Designate Michael McGrath is questioned by

MEPs A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Comm ...

on his plan for the Digital Fairness Act.

References

{{EU-law-stub E-commerce in the European Union European Digital Strategy Policies of the European Union European Union regulations Data laws of Europe