EU Formally Unveils Digital Fairness Act With Tougher Subscription Rules

The European Commission presented its Digital Fairness Act on 11 November, proposing new restrictions on subscription practices, manipulative app design and misleading pricing. The legislation would affect digital services, including dating platforms and AI companions.

The proposal would make subscriptions easier to cancel and introduce stronger protections against unwanted automatic renewals and free trials converting into paid subscriptions. Consumers would also have the right to contact a human customer service representative. Companies would be required to provide clearer pricing information, including for purchases made with virtual in-app currencies.

The legislation also targets addictive design features, allowing users to disable certain prompts that encourage excessive engagement or spending. It would restrict unfair personalised advertising and pricing that exploit consumer vulnerabilities. These measures could affect how dating apps structure paid features, engagement tools and personalised offers.

Alongside the Digital Fairness Act, the Commission proposed changes to the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation. These would give EU regulators greater powers to investigate major cross-border violations and impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s annual global turnover. Non-EU companies would also need an EU legal representative. The European Parliament and EU member states must now consider the proposals before they become law.