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Duolingo, Strava, and Ticketmaster Are All Caught Up in EU’s New Digital Fairness Rules
The European Commission has proposed a Digital Fairness Act to strengthen consumer protections online, addressing practices such as misleading design, difficult cancellations and targeted advertising. The proposal matters because it would extend safeguards against addictive features beyond children and help consumers across the EU’s 27 countries deal with digital services on clearer, more consistent terms.
The rules would let users switch off features such as autoplay and app streaks, make subscriptions easier to cancel, require paid influencer promotions to be disclosed and give consumers access to human customer service. They would also restrict dynamic ticket pricing and personalised advertising or pricing aimed at minors or exploiting sensitive data. The Commission says enforcement could include investigations and fines of up to 6 per cent of a company’s worldwide annual turnover.
In short
- EU proposes new rules to protect consumers from harmful online practices.
- Users could switch off autoplay and app streaks.
- Companies could face fines of up to 6 per cent of global turnover.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters argue that online services can exploit habits, obscure costs and make it needlessly difficult to cancel, leaving consumers with less meaningful choice than they have offline. EU-wide requirements could make protections more consistent, help people make informed decisions and curb practices such as targeting minors or using sensitive data to set prices.
The case against
Critics could argue that broad rules on features such as streaks, personalised offers and pricing risk treating varied services as if they pose the same harms, while limiting companies’ ability to tailor products and compete. Compliance costs and large potential fines may also weigh heavily on businesses, and detailed rules could reduce consumer choice or innovation without reliably addressing the underlying problems.