EU executive unveils raft of measures to protect consumers online

The European Commission wants to make it easier for consumers to cancel online subscriptions, under sweeping proposals unveiled on Wednesday.

The comprehensive legislative package also aims to strengthen consumer rights regarding ticket sales, online shopping and gaming, while cracking down on tricks used by companies.

EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Michael McGrath, who presented the Digital Fairness Act (DFA), described it as the most significant reform of European consumer protection law in more than 20 years. 

"We are expecting that these measures will save EU consumers up to €13.7 billion ($15.3 billion) a year," McGrath told journalists.

Cancelling should be as easy as signing up

Brussels wants to protect consumers in particular from manipulation by dark patterns - design elements intended to steer consumers' behaviour so that they unintentionally select options that benefit the provider.

According to the proposal, companies would no longer be allowed to write sentences such as "We are sad to see you go." 

Cancelling a contract should not be significantly more complicated than signing up, according to the commission said. A few clicks should suffice.

Tricks such as artificial scarcity of a product - with wording such as "Only 2 left in stock" would also be banned under the proposal. 

When shopping for events such as concerts, the number of tickets available at the lowest and highest price would have to be listed, to tackle price gouging where dynamic pricing models are used. The practice refers to prices that change according to demand, timing or available seats.

Safeguards against mechanisms on TikTok etc.

Under the proposals, social media users would be able to individually switch off features such as endless scrolling and automatic video playback - mechanisms used by some online giants to keep users on their platforms for as long as possible.

These demands on the tech sector are not entirely new, however.

The commission is currently investigating TikTok and Instagram for possible breaches of the Digital Services Act. A social media ban for children is also being negotiated at EU level.

More child protection in gaming

The proposed law would ban certain mechanisms for children in video games. Virtual currencies for minors would be switched off by default, with activation requiring the consent of parents or legal guardians. This way, the commission wants to give families an overview of what children spend their money on.

The commission, the EU's executive, also wants to ban so-called loot boxes for minors. These are paid random packs that unlock new weapons or characters, for example, which share characteristics with gambling.

Humans to staff customer service hotlines

Anyone who has concluded a contract should always have the right to speak to a human about problems. The commission wants to ban customer service hotlines controlled exclusively by technology such as AI.

Consumers should also retain all their rights if AI agents shop online on their behalf. At the same time, rules should ensure that consumers retain control over the actions of the AI agent, for example by setting price limits.

German publishers "appalled" by proposal

The new rules for companies with subscription models have triggered particularly strong reactions in Germany.

The German Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) and the Media Association of the Free Press (MVFP) sharply criticized the proposal ahead of its official presentation.

The measures would burden publishers' digital business with new reporting obligations and bans on successful subscription models, they argued.

"We are appalled that the commission has once again not improved the editorial and economic conditions of the free press, but has considerably worsened them," the associations said.

Brussels wants investigative powers

The commission proposes being able to conduct its own investigations against companies that do not comply with consumer protection rules. To date, enforcement of these rights rests largely with national authorities.

In certain cross-border cases with particularly high damages, the commission wants the power to impose fines of up to 6% of a company's worldwide annual turnover.

The measures will now be scrutinized by EU member states and the European Parliament, before they can pass into law. It could take months or even years before an agreement on the extensive package is reached.