Digital Fairness Act

On July 17, 2025, the European Commission launched a “call for evidence” and public consultation on the Digital Fairness Act (“DFA”), an anticipated new consumer protection law. The Commission seeks feedback on existing EU consumer protection laws and on proposals for how the DFA could address the following two problems with the existing laws, as identified through a “Fitness Check” of EU consumer law published in October 2024:

  • Lack of digital fairness for consumers. This particularly affects vulnerable groups such as minors, offering them suboptimal choices that can lead to financial harm, loss of time, negative health impacts, and indirect effects like environmental costs.
  • Unclear rules for businesses and market fragmentation. This results in increased business costs, hampers cross-border trade, leads to missed opportunities, and causes unfair competition, particularly from non-EU traders.

The Commission has also emphasized its objective to enhance the EU’s competitiveness, aiming for simplification of consumer protection rules and the removal of barriers within the EU Market. This includes efforts to achieve greater legal certainty regarding unfair commercial practices. The goal is to address enforcement deficiencies, regulatory gaps, and market fragmentation, as some Member States have regulated or are considering new regulation in these areas.Continue Reading Help Shape the New EU Consumer Protection Law: Join the Public Consultation on the Digital Fairness Act

AI chatbots are transforming how businesses handle consumer inquiries and complaints, offering speed and availability that traditional channels often cannot match.  However, the European Commission’s recent Digital Fairness Act Fitness Check has spotlighted a gap: EU consumers currently lack a cross-sectoral right to demand human contact when interacting with AI chatbots in business-to-consumer settings.  It is still unclear whether and how the European Commission is proposing to address this.  The Digital Fairness Act could do so, but the Commission’s proposal is only planned to be published in the 3rd quarter of 2026.  This post highlights key consumer protection considerations for companies deploying AI chatbots in the EU market.

AI Chatbots Cannot Be the Only Contact Channel

Under EU law–particularly the Consumer Rights Directive (“CRD”) and the eCommerce Directive–consumers must have access to traditional communication channels such as the trader’s postal address, telephone number, and email address.  The Court of Justice of the EU has made clear that consumers must be able to contact traders directly, quickly, and effectively (Case C-649/17).  While chatbots can assist, they cannot replace mandatory human contact options.

AI Chatbots as Supplementary Communication Channels

The CRD requires traders to disclose their primary contact details before concluding a contract, but does not prohibit offering AI chatbots as additional communication tools.  Where chatbots enable consumers to retain durable records of their interactions – including timestamps – traders should inform consumers about that.  Durable records are defined as information stored in a medium accessible and unalterable for future reference, such as emails or downloadable files.

In any event, certain communications, such as the acknowledgment of a consumer’s right of withdrawal, must be provided in a “durable medium,” ensuring consumers have a stable and accessible record of important contractual information.

Human Oversight and the Right to Human InterventionContinue Reading Digital Fairness Act Series: Topic 2 – Transparency and Disclosure Obligations for AI Chatbots in Consumer Interactions

On March 21, 2025, the European Commission announced that the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (“CPC-N”) had initiated enforcement proceedings against an online gaming company, for allegedly violating EU consumer protection laws and engaging in practices that could pose a particular risk to children.  The gaming company now has one month…

Continue Reading Consumer Watchdogs Turn Their Attention to the Online Gaming Industry

On October 3, 2024, the European Commission published a report evaluating the effectiveness of existing EU consumer protection laws in protecting consumers in the digital space.  More specifically, the report assesses the effectiveness of the following three consumer protection laws: (i) the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (“UCPD”); (ii) the Consumer…

Continue Reading EU Commission Publishes Report Assessing EU Consumer Laws and Paves Way for New and Stronger EU Consumer Law for the Digital Space