The European Commission is going after the design of the apps people cannot put down. Justice commissioner Michael McGrath presents the Digital Fairness Act on Wednesday, a proposal aimed at the features that keep users scrolling and the tricks that push them into buying or signing up.
Drafts of the proposal target addictive features such as autoplay and endless scrolling, along with "dark patterns": interface tricks that steer people into choices they would not otherwise make. They include a blacklist of ten banned practices. Reported examples include false warnings that stock is running out, pre-ticked add-ons and nagging pop-ups.
Users would get new switches. They could turn off autoplay, notifications unrelated to their own activity and streak-style rewards. Adults could also disable AI chatbot functions that simulate personal relationships to keep people engaged. It is not yet clear whether that clause covers general-purpose assistants or only companion apps.
The text also reaches influencer marketing and practices designed to maximise online spending. Companies that break the rules could be fined up to 6% of their worldwide annual turnover.
The Commission's pitch is that the act fills gaps in consumer law rather than piling on new duties. It would replace a patchwork of national rules with a single EU-wide regulation and serve, in the draft's words, as "a safety net for consumer protection in the digital environment".
The timing is tricky. Ursula von der Leyen has made cutting red tape a central promise, after industry complained that overlapping laws are choking investment. Brussels is now negotiating a digital omnibus to simplify its AI, data and cybersecurity rules. Sixteen business groups, including BusinessEurope, DigitalEurope and EuroCommerce, have just written to MEPs asking for the omnibus to go well beyond "an administrative clean-up". Their main ask: easier access to data for training European AI models.
Doubts exist inside the Commission too. Tech chief Henna Virkkunen has warned that overlapping obligations could make the EU's digital rulebook harder to apply. The new act will have to sit alongside the Digital Services Act and the AI Act. One EU diplomat said capitals were "still waiting to see how [the] DFA goes beyond adding another layer of legislation".
Consumer groups are on the other side. "The Digital Fairness Act is a much-needed tool to give consumers back control of how much time and money they spend online," said Agustín Reyna of BEUC, the European consumer organisation.
The proposal lands two months after the Commission's Kids Act, which restricts children's use of social media, some gaming platforms and AI chatbots. Together they show that public pressure to rein in Big Tech, especially to protect minors, is winning out over the deregulation mood when it comes to platforms.
If it passes, the Digital Fairness Act would move EU tech regulation from what platforms host to how they are built. Infinite feeds, streaks and companion bots are core to how many apps make money, so expect a heavy lobbying fight in the Council and Parliament. The bigger test is political. Brussels is trying to show it can protect consumers and simplify at the same time. If the final law adds duties without removing old ones, it will give the deregulation camp its best argument yet.
