IT Home reported on November 11 that, according to a Bloomberg report that evening, the European Union has put forward a new plan to strengthen oversight of practices that induce and manipulate user behavior so people spend more time and money online.
The European Commission published a proposal for the Digital Fairness Act intended to further strengthen consumer protection. Under the proposal, users would have the right to turn off features that easily lead to addiction or excessive use of online services, and companies that break the rules could be fined.
The EU has for years tightened technology regulation on issues such as antitrust and privacy. This proposal turns attention to the methods platforms use to attract billions of users and keep them using services. The new rules are expected to have a major impact on large social platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. E-commerce platforms and AI chatbots could also face limits.
The Digital Fairness Act also plans to ban “dark patterns” in online sales—inductive or deceptive interface designs that lead consumers to choices they would not otherwise make. Common examples include falsely claiming a product is about to sell out, or deliberately creating obstacles that make subscriptions hard to cancel.
The new rules could also restrict AI chatbots that induce users to keep interacting with them.
Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner responsible for consumer protection, said: “We want to make clear that falsely claiming goods or services are in short supply is a ‘dark pattern’ and therefore must be banned.”
Alongside stronger consumer protection, the EU plans to expand the European Commission’s direct enforcement powers. If a violation affects two-thirds of the EU population, the Commission could intervene directly instead of leaving enforcement entirely to member-state regulators.
For some violations, the Commission could impose fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover. The Commission has said smaller companies would not be covered by direct enforcement.
The Digital Fairness Act still needs negotiation and approval by European legislative bodies and could be substantially revised before it becomes law.
Original article: https://www.ithome.com/1/025/735.htm