As the DMCC Act comes into force in the UK, the EU is not sitting still on consumer law either.
Commissioner McGrath, who, among other things, is responsible for consumer protection in the EU, has visited the European Parliament's Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection to issue an update about the Commission's plans for digital regulation and consumer protection.
Digital fairness
The Commission plans to issue the draft Digital Fairness Act in the third quarter of 2026. It will aim to eliminate identified legal gaps and unfair consumer practices such as addictive design, dark patterns, and burdensome subscription cancellations. MEPs said that they hoped that it would not be postponed any longer than that, and also stressed the importance of protecting children.
Enforcement
The Commissioner said that it was important to implement existing consumer and digital rules quickly, especially in light of the increase in online shopping. He emphasised that European consumers must be protected, and European companies must not suffer because of unfair competition. He said that the following new legislation needs to be fully implemented:
- Digital Markets Act;
- Digital Services Act;
- AI Act;
- General Product Safety Regulation;
- Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive; and
- Directive on Repair of Goods and Ecodesign.
Product safety
The Commissioner mentioned the Commission's Communication on e-commerce from February 2025 and highlighted that the first product safety sweep would be completed before summer. He said chemical safety was one of the priority areas and that he hoped that the review of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation would also help to ensure high-level consumer protection.
In March we said that there were rumours that the Digital Fairness Act would be delayed until 2026, and it seems that these were accurate.
Several MEPs apparently asked for reassurance that European consumer protection standards would neither be watered down nor fall victim to negotiations with the new US administration. In the UK, it has been suggested that the US authorities want the Online Safety Act and other legislation to be watered down for a trade deal. Commissioner McGrath promised to implement recently adopted laws and uphold strong consumer protection rules in the EU. However, he did say that the Commission wants to simplify the record-keeping requirements of the GDPR, which may be the start of simplifying regulations.
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