EU Digital Fairness Act — Proposal Q3-Q4 2026

Your digital practices are about to face EU scrutiny.

The Digital Fairness Act will regulate dark patterns, addictive design, influencer marketing, and personalisation across all digital products targeting EU consumers. A comprehensive audit now saves costly redesigns later.

€7.9B
Annual consumer harm from unfair digital practices in the EU
2026
Expected DFA proposal — compliance preparation window closing
4 Areas
Dark patterns, addictive design, influencer marketing, personalisation

Four pillars of digital fairness

The DFA goes far beyond dark patterns. It's the EU's comprehensive answer to manipulative digital practices — and it applies to every business serving EU consumers.

🚫

Dark Patterns

Manipulative UI design: misleading buttons, hidden costs, forced consent, confusing cancellation flows, pre-ticked boxes, and visual misdirection. The DFA will establish a black list of banned practices.

🔄

Addictive Design

Infinite scroll, autoplay, notification bombardment, reward loops, loot boxes, and engagement mechanics designed to maximise time spent. Especially regulated for minors under 18.

📢

Influencer Marketing

Undisclosed sponsored content, fake reviews, misleading endorsements, and commercial messaging disguised as personal recommendations. Transparency requirements will be mandatory.

🎯

Personalisation & Profiling

Exploiting consumer vulnerabilities through targeted pricing, behavioural profiling, and personalised manipulation. Dynamic pricing practices will face strict transparency obligations.

Who needs a Digital Fairness Audit?

Unlike the DSA which focuses on platforms, the DFA applies broadly to all B2C digital services. If you serve EU consumers digitally, you're in scope.

🛒

E-Commerce & Marketplaces

Checkout flows, pricing displays, subscription management, cancellation processes, and product recommendation algorithms.

🎮

Gaming & Entertainment

In-app purchases, loot boxes, virtual currencies, engagement mechanics, and monetisation strategies — especially where minors are users.

💳

FinTech & Subscriptions

Sign-up vs cancellation asymmetry, drip pricing, auto-renewal practices, and personalised financial product offers.

📱

SaaS & App Developers

Onboarding dark patterns, notification strategies, data collection consent, freemium-to-premium conversion tactics, and usage tracking.

The cost of waiting vs. acting now

Companies that prepare before the DFA proposal have a 12-18 month head start on competitors scrambling after enforcement.

⚠ Risk of Inaction

  • Compliance costs of €500K+ when rushed under deadline pressure
  • Fines under UCPD already applicable — DFA will increase penalties
  • Costly product redesigns mid-development cycle
  • Reputational damage from public enforcement actions
  • CPC network coordinated actions (as seen with Meta, July 2024)

✦ Advantage of Early Action

  • Build fairness into design systems now — avoid retrofitting later
  • Competitive advantage: "DFA-ready" as a trust signal for EU consumers
  • Influence the regulation through consultation responses
  • Spread compliance investment over 18-24 months instead of 6
  • Align with existing DSA Article 25 obligations proactively

Comprehensive Digital Fairness Audit

We assess your entire digital consumer journey against anticipated DFA requirements, existing EU consumer law, and industry best practices.

01

Interface & Journey Mapping

We map every consumer touchpoint: sign-up flows, consent mechanisms, pricing displays, cancellation processes, notification systems, and personalisation logic. Each element is catalogued against the DFA's four regulatory pillars.

02

Gap Analysis & Risk Scoring

Each practice is scored against the anticipated DFA framework, existing UCPD/CRD/UCTD requirements, and DSA Article 25. We identify high-risk elements that need immediate attention and classify them by severity and remediation effort.

03

Remediation Roadmap

You receive a prioritised action plan: quick wins for immediate compliance gaps, medium-term design improvements, and strategic recommendations for building fairness-by-design into your product development lifecycle.

Built on primary EU sources

Our audit methodology is based on official EU legislative documents, not media summaries.

EU Commission

Digital Fairness Fitness Check

The foundational evidence base identifying gaps in current EU consumer law for digital practices.

Read the Fitness Check →
EU Parliament

Legislative Train Schedule

Official Parliament tracking of the DFA legislative initiative and its progress through institutions.

Track the DFA →
European Parliament

Resolution on Addictive Design

Parliament's December 2023 resolution calling for legislation against addictive design and regulatory gap closure.

Read the Resolution →
Commissioner Mission

McGrath Mission Letter

Von der Leyen's mandate to Commissioner McGrath to develop the Digital Fairness Act.

View Commissioner Mandate →

Stay ahead of the DFA

Get monthly updates on the Digital Fairness Act's progress — from consultation to proposal to enforcement. No spam, only regulatory intelligence.

Request your Digital Fairness Audit

Tell us about your digital product and we'll scope a tailored audit. Response within 24 hours.