The European Commission presented its Digital Fairness Act proposal on November 11, 2026, describing a package of consumer protections for online services and commerce in the EU. The measures in its public summary include controls on spending-related prompts, clearer prices in virtual queues, influencer disclosures and easier subscription cancellation. The Commission’s announcement sets out the proposal’s stated scope.
What the Commission says the proposal would change
The summary covers several points in the online shopping and subscription experience. It describes proposed restrictions on manipulative marketing, an option to turn off design features that encourage excessive or compulsive spending, and clearer pricing in virtual queues, including the current price and the highest possible price.
The Commission also lists disclosures for influencer marketing, restrictions on unfair personalized ads and prices targeting minors, and easier subscription cancellation. It identifies unwanted automatic renewals and free trials that turn into subscription traps as issues the proposal addresses.
For consumers, the most direct touchpoints are spending prompts, the prices shown while waiting in a virtual queue, and the steps required to cancel a subscription.
The proposal’s clearest everyday changes would concern spending prompts, queue prices and subscription cancellation.
What Bloomberg reported about an earlier draft
In a report published November 9, Bloomberg said it had seen a draft that would require companies to let adults switch off features encouraging compulsive or excessive use of their services. Bloomberg also reported that the draft would target AI systems designed to simulate personal relationships to encourage continued interaction. Bloomberg’s report described draft provisions; the Commission’s November 11 announcement presented the proposal and summarized its measures.
The consumer figures the Commission cited
To explain the proposal’s context, the Commission cited its 2025 Consumer Conditions Scoreboard: around 60% of consumers buy goods or services online, and online shoppers are over 60% more likely to experience problems than offline shoppers. The Commission also estimated that the proposal could save EU consumers up to €13.7 billion per year.
