DFA: Next EU legislation on the verge of collapse?
115 scientists and 85 organizations warn against weakening or abandoning a planned law for better digital consumer protection.
(Image: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock.com)
It was actually supposed to be presented in the coming months: a proposal from the EU Commission for better consumer protection. But for months, doubts have been raised about whether the "Digital Fairness Act" (DFA) is really needed. In an open letter, 115 scientists and 85 organizations are now calling on the European Commission and the member states to make a clear commitment to a strong Digital Fairness Act. Among the signatories are consumer protection organizations as well as the Chaos Computer Club (CCC), LobbyControl, Save the Children, and the German Environmental Aid.
In their letter, which is available to heise online, the signatories call for, among other things, "binding regulations for dark patterns, addictive design, unfair personalization, influencer marketing, and unfair practices in video games." Essential components of the DFA are likely to be consumer law regulations, i.e., concrete rules on consumer contract law and unfair advertising methods, but also on the cooperation of the responsible authorities across national borders.
Necessity disputed
The European Union aims for a unified digital internal market in which companies and consumers are subject to a uniform EU-wide legal framework rather than member state-specific regulations. Within the EU Commission and among the IT industry, the scope and necessity of the Digital Fairness Act have been discussed multiple times.
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The Minister of Justice and Consumer Protection for Germany in the Council of Member States, Stefanie Hubig (SPD), had clearly spoken out in favor of a strong DFA a month ago. At least large parts of the project are named as desirable in the black-red coalition agreement.
However, in Brussels, in the course of deregulation initiatives such as the Digital Omnibus, negotiations are currently underway for further harmonization and streamlining of EU legislation. Parts of the planned DFA could already be anticipated within this framework, and other parts, such as the influencer regulations, could be addressed within the scope of the upcoming revision of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMD).
(mack)
