Endlessly scrolling through your social media timeline. Or that online offer where the seller pretends there are only a few tickets, rooms, or products left. More and more consumers are encountering unfair or addictive practices online. The European Commission wants to tackle this.
The European Commission wants to make it easier for social media users to break free from addictive series of videos on their timeline. Those who watch endless automatically playing videos on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook find it hard to put down their phone. It leads to addiction and sometimes to mental health problems.
The Commission now wants a mandatory button that allows users to disable these most addictive features.
Letting consumers choose themselves
The Commission does not opt for a ban on the addictive design of social media, as the EU does for children up to 15 years old. For adults, it is different; apps keep the possibility to make their users endlessly addicted to their product.
Consumers must have the choice themselves, reasons Commissioner Virkkunnen: "It is partly also the business model of those companies to make their services addictive. Many users also like it. That is why we make it transparent, and it is up to the user to choose whether to keep or disable these features."
Member of the European Parliament Kim van Sparrentak from the Greens calls this a wrong choice: "With this proposal, the Commission makes a historic mistake, for both our health and our democracy. The Commission could have chosen to protect people, but they chose the tech bros. They have given in and thereby legitimize the addictive business models of Big Tech."
CDA MEP Jeroen Lenaers joins this criticism: "Not only children but also adults are influenced online by misleading and manipulative design choices. Just like with the EU KIDS Act, we believe that the responsibility for a fair and safe digital environment should lie with the platforms themselves, not with the user."
Unfair practices
Besides a mandatory button to disable addictive features, the European Commission also wants to put an end to unfair marketing tricks that online sellers use to rip off customers. For example, influencers who are paid by companies to promote their products must clearly disclose this. Also, automatic renewal of online subscriptions must end. After a free trial period, companies must explicitly ask for permission to renew a subscription.
According to the Commission, the new rules are urgently needed to ensure that online consumers are as well protected as customers in physical stores. About 60 percent of purchases in the EU are made online. Therefore, legislation must adapt accordingly, says EU Commissioner McGrath, responsible for consumer protection. "Our economy has changed. Our rules must ensure more freedom of choice, more control, simple rules, and strict supervision."
According to MEP Lenaers from the CDA, better rules for the online market are urgently needed. "Consumers must be able to trust that they can make a fair choice online. Without manipulation or deception. A strong digital economy requires not only innovation but also trust, transparency, and fairness."
Both left and right in the European Parliament believe the Commission's proposals could be stricter. The 27 EU countries will also have to approve the plans. As a result, it will take more than a year before the new rules come into effect.