Public consultation on Digital Fairness Act

The public consultation on the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act has just been launched.

At first glance, it might not seem directly relevant to your area but I strongly encourage you to take a closer look.

The core problems being addressed include:

• Lack of digital fairness for consumers, especially vulnerable groups such as minors - leading to poor decision-making, financial harm, time loss, health risks, and even environmental costs.
• Unclear rules for businesses and market fragmentation, which result in higher compliance costs, barriers to cross-border trade, missed opportunities, and unfair competition - particularly from non-EU traders.

The 2024 fitness check on digital fairness revealed important gaps in consumer protection online.

Building on the existing EU digital rulebook, this new initiative aims to address problematic practices such as:

• Unfair commercial practices, including dark patterns
• Addictive design features in digital products
• Unfair personalisation and pricing practices
• Misleading marketing by influencers

It also seeks to ensure a level playing field for online traders, simplify rules, and improve enforcement.

EU consumer protection rules are sector-agnostic, so this initiative will impact the financial and insurance sectors as well.

The topics are complex but highly relevant to think through. It is ultimately all about trust, in my opinion.

They intersect with existing financial services regulation and touch on emerging areas like Finfluencers, dark patterns, and personalised pricing.

All of which are still under exploration by policymakers, supervisors, and academia.

And I know this well. I've done quite a bit of thinking around these issues in my previous life (and still do, to be honest).

But I also know many of you (experts in tech, law, and behavioural finance) have valuable insights to offer. Together, we can help shape a fair and balanced approach.

So take the time and share your ideas

Read more here and contact me if you need help on Digital Fairness Act.