Update: the draft of the Digital Fairness Act, the EU's new digital consumer protection law, sets fines of up to 6% of annual global turnover for companies that adopt unfair digital trade practices. The sanctions detail, reported by Reuters from the draft text seen by the agency, adds to Geekiki's report on the leaked draft, which showed the proposal's focus on dark patterns and chatbots that mimic relationships.
According to Reuters, the fines could hit companies found guilty of using unfair digital practices to push consumers to buy more or to target children with personalised advertising. The proposal will be presented by the European Commission's Justice chief, Michael McGrath, on Wednesday, 11 November 2026.
Agence Europe, which also had access to the draft, reports that the European Commission itself could impose fines of up to 6% of a company's worldwide annual turnover. Member states, in turn, will have to provide for fines with a ceiling of at least 4% of annual turnover in the country concerned. The text also repeals and replaces the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, turning its rules into a regulation directly applicable across the European Union.
What happens next
The status of the text is worth stressing: this is a leaked draft, not an approved law. After the presentation, the proposal will still need to be negotiated with the European Parliament and member states, and it may change during the process. If approved, the law is expected to take more than a year to come into force.
Why the fines matter
The sanctions give weight to what the leak already indicated: the European Union wants to treat digital manipulation — from buttons that hide the cheapest option to fake urgency counters and deliberately difficult cancellations — as an illegal practice, with penalties on a par with the bloc's largest fines for Big Tech.
Sources
- Reuters: "Companies risk fines of 6% of global turnover for unfair digital trade practices, EU draft law shows"
- Agence Europe: "With 'Digital Fairness Act', European Commission targets dark patterns and replaces Unfair Commercial Practices Directive"
- Geekiki: "Leak: EU Digital Fairness Act targets dark patterns and chatbots that mimic relationships"
Image: The Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission in Brussels. Photo by EmDee, via Wikimedia Commons.
Transparency: this article was produced with the help of artificial intelligence, cross-checked against public posts on X and sources on the internet, and reviewed against the original sources cited above. We recommend consulting the original sources for more details.
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