Duolingo, Strava, and Ticketmaster Are All Caught Up in EU’s New Digital Fairness Rules

Within the package, the Commission unveiled its Digital Fairness Act to address harmful practices online. Proposed rules include banning dark patterns—practices which manipulate consumers into making decisions they would not otherwise make, such as falsely claiming a product is running low. They will also curb dynamic pricing by ticket retailers, like Ticketmaster; force influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product; outrule personalized advertising and pricing targeting minors or taking advantage of sensitive data; make digital subscriptions easier to cancel; and give consumers a right to interact with human customer service.

The package “represents the most significant reform of EU consumer protection rules in more than 20 years” according to Michael McGrath, the EC Consumer Protection Commissioner, noting that existing consumer rules were developed before ecommerce…