EEB response on the Digital Fairness Act

EEB response to the call for evidence on the Digital Fairness Act

With ever-evolving technologies, deceptive techniques are being used to push consumers to purchase ever-increasing volumes of products. Dark patterns, monetised trade-ins, misleading promotions, ‘buy more to receive discounts’: these patterns not only undermine rational decision-making, but also impact consumers negatively with excessive spending, debt, and clutter, while affecting mental health.

While consumer protection is slowly improving, legislation and enforcement are moving at a significantly slower pace than digital innovation. The Digital Fairness Act has the potential to help close this gap.