Brussels Proposes a Digital Fairness Act to Ban Dark Patterns, Hidden Fees and Subscription Traps: What Would Change for Shoppers in Portugal

The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a Digital Fairness Act, which the Commission calls a major update of EU consumer protection rules. It would ban fake "only 1 left" scarcity claims, force websites to show the full price from the start, make digital subscriptions easier to cancel and tighten the rules on influencer marketing. For anyone in Portugal who shops, streams or games online, the changes would apply directly, but not yet: the text is a proposal that the European Parliament and the Council must now negotiate.

Alongside it, the Commission proposed new enforcement powers that would let Brussels investigate large cross-border cases itself and fine companies up to 6 percent of their worldwide annual turnover. The Commission says the package could save EU consumers up to 13.7 billion euros a year.

What the proposal would ban or change

According to the Commission's questions and answers, the main measures are:

• Dark patterns: an updated blacklist of practices banned in all circumstances, including fake scarcity claims ("5 other customers are interested in this!"), messages that shame people for saying no ("We're sad to see you go") and pre-ticked boxes or extras added to the basket automatically.
• Prices: the full price, including fees, taxes and charges, must be shown from the start, which would end drip pricing at checkout. Sellers in virtual ticket queues must show the current price in real time and the highest possible price; ticket resellers must show the original price, ticket type and seat.
• Subscriptions: a simple cancellation option for digital contracts, a warning before a free trial ends or a subscription renews, active confirmation before a trial becomes paid, and a right to reach a human in customer service when other channels fail.
• Addictive design: users could switch off features such as video autoplay and notifications unrelated to what they are doing.
• Games and minors: in-app currencies must show their real-money value and be off by default for minors; loot boxes, pay-to-win and pay-to-progress features would be banned for minors, as would higher personalised prices for minors or vulnerable consumers.
• Influencers: paid promotion must be clearly disclosed, and brands and agencies would have to make sure the influencers they hire comply.

The act would also turn the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive into a regulation, meaning the same text would apply directly in Portugal and every other member state rather than through separate national laws.

When it would apply

Not soon. The release says only that the proposals "will now be discussed by the European Parliament and Council"; it gives no date for agreement or application.

What you can do now

• Cancel within 14 days: existing EU rules already give you a 14-day cooling-off period for most online purchases, from delivery for goods and from the contract date for services, as set out on the EU's Your Europe portal. Goods bought from a private individual on a marketplace are not covered.
• Complain online: the Livro de Reclamações Eletrónico (the electronic complaints book), managed by the Direção-Geral da Defesa do Consumidor, Comércio e Serviços (DGC, the consumer protection directorate), lets you file a complaint against a business and follow its progress; the site has an English option.
• Report unlabelled ads: you do not have to wait for the new act. Our earlier report explains what Portuguese law already requires of influencers and how to report an unlabelled ad.
• Check discounts: with Black Friday approaching, a "discount" must be measured against the lowest price of the previous 30 days; here is how to check a deal and where to complain.