What changed
European Commission proposes the Digital Fairness Act, a regulation replacing the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive
When
Proposed November 11, 2026; applies 12 months after entry into force once Parliament and Council agree
Who it affects
Any brand, marketplace seller, ad tech firm or agency selling or advertising to consumers in the EU
What to do
Audit urgency claims, strike-through prices, fees, subscriptions and influencer deals on EU storefronts

Key takeaways

  • The European Commission proposed the Digital Fairness Act on November 11, 2026; it would apply 12 months after Parliament and Council agree it and it enters into force.
  • It would ban fake scarcity and other dark patterns, blacklist reference price tricks, drip pricing and dropshipping practices, and allow fines up to 6% of worldwide turnover in large cases.
  • Brands selling to the EU should audit strike-through prices, urgency widgets, fees, free trials and influencer contracts now.

Digital Fairness Act: key dates

  1. Fitness Check finds EU consumer law only partly effective

  2. Public consultation, 3,341 responses

  3. Commission proposes the Digital Fairness Act

  4. Parliament and Council negotiate the text

  5. Published in the Official Journal

  6. Rules apply to all traders selling to the EU

What the Commission proposed

The package has three parts: the Digital Fairness Act itself, registered as COM(2026) 1100, a Simplification Directive that amends the Consumer Rights Directive and the ePrivacy Directive, and a revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation that sets when Brussels can step in, PPC Land reported from the published texts. Because the act is a regulation, it would apply directly in all 27 member states instead of 27 national versions, Freshfields notes, and it reaches traders targeting EU consumers regardless of where they are established or how big they are. A business's size would count when penalties are set.

Under Article 40, the regulation would enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal and apply 12 months later. The European Parliament and the Council still have to agree the text first, so nothing changes on your listings today. Commissioner Michael McGrath called it the most significant reform of EU consumer protection rules in more than 20 years.

What it would ban that sellers use today

The annex lists 62 practices banned in all circumstances, including 10 dark patterns, according to Pinsent Masons. Among them are claims that imply a product is scarce, presenting the option to decline as the wrong choice, and creating a false impression that the featured option is the only one. The Commission's own summary gives the example of fake claims that a product is almost sold out. Freshfields adds that the blacklist would gain new items on reference prices, drip pricing and dropshipping, practices that many marketplace and DTC sellers touch every day.

Other rules reach further into normal selling. Free trials would need reminders before they turn into paid subscriptions, contracts made online would need an online cancel button, and shoppers would get access to a human in customer service where other routes fail. Brands would carry legal responsibility for the influencers they pay, PPC Land reports. Profiling-based ads aimed at people the trader knows are minors, or built on sensitive data such as health, would be banned for every trader, not only large platforms. Businesses offering AI shopping agents would have to let consumers set limits such as a maximum price and confirm which contracts the agent may sign.

Common seller tactics under the proposal

Fine todayAt risk
Real stock counter
Fake 'only 2 left'
Was price never charged
Fees added at checkout
Free trial with reminder
Unlabelled paid influencer

Based on the November 11, 2026 proposal; final text may change.

So what: the money and the risk

The fine ceiling is the headline: up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover in large-scale cases with an impact across the single market, under the revised enforcement regulation. For a brand with $50 million in global sales, that ceiling is $3 million, even if only a slice of its sales are European. The Commission says the package would save EU consumers up to 13.7 billion euros a year, money that today flows to sellers through hidden fees, unwanted renewals and pressure tactics.

Worked example, illustrative numbers: a supplement brand sells $4 million a year into Germany and France through Amazon.de, Amazon.fr and its own Shopify store. Its EU product pages carry a 'Was 39.99' price it has rarely charged, a countdown timer that resets for each visitor, and a subscribe offer with a free first month and no reminder. Under the proposal, all three would be at risk: the reference price and fake urgency as blacklisted practices, and the trial under the new subscription rules. If those tactics lift conversion by 10%, removing them costs about $400,000 in sales on that $4 million. That is the number to plan for, not the fine, and it is why fixing pages before the law applies beats rushing after it.

What sellers should do

The law is at least two years from applying, but the cheapest time to change habits is before Q4 2027 creative is built.

  • Marketplace manager: list every EU listing, deal and coupon that shows a strike-through or 'was' price, and confirm you sold at that price recently and for real. Metric: share of EU listings with a documented reference price, target 100%.
  • Ecommerce manager: remove any stock counter, timer or 'only X left' message on your own site that is not tied to live inventory or a real deadline. Metric: zero urgency widgets without a data source.
  • Finance lead: show every fee, including shipping and handling, in the first price shoppers see on EU storefronts to avoid drip pricing. Metric: checkout price equals the listed price plus tax and delivery shown up front.
  • Retention lead: add a reminder email before any free trial or Subscribe and Save style offer converts, and a one-click online cancel. Metric: cancellation completed online in under 3 clicks.
  • Brand or social lead: put ad disclosure and product safety terms into every paid influencer contract for EU audiences. Metric: 100% of paid posts labelled.
  • Ads lead: check that EU audience targeting does not use health or other sensitive segments or knowingly reach minors. Metric: audience list reviewed and logged each quarter.

EU storefront fix list

  • Document every reference price
  • Remove timers not tied to real data
  • Show all fees up front
  • Add trial reminders and online cancel
  • Label every paid influencer post
  • Drop sensitive ad audiences

When this does not apply

If you sell only to US shoppers, nothing in this proposal binds you. The text can still change: Parliament and the Council will negotiate it, the Commission would keep powers to extend the dark pattern list later, and the 6% ceiling is for the largest cross-border cases, not every breach. Large platforms already covered by the Digital Services Act ad rules are exempt from the new profiling ad ban because they face the same rule there. Personalised pricing is not banned outright; the ban covers profiling-based pricing aimed at minors or vulnerable consumers. Treat this as a direction of travel, and check final rules with EU counsel before changing contracts.

Where PPC Spider helps

Compliant listings still have to convert. Our Amazon international expansion team runs EU stores, and our guide to selling on Amazon Europe covers the basics. Reference prices matter on Amazon too, so read our Amazon pricing strategy guide, follow more rule changes on our ecommerce marketplace news channel, and start with a free Amazon audit.

Sources

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