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Exploitative e-commerce to be a thing of the past, EU justice chief vows

Infinitely scrolling and influencers opaquely peddling products could be a thing of the past, as Brussels has proposed a crackdown against harmful e-commerce platforms and insidious online practices.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/11/12/exploitative-e-commerce-will-be-a-thing-of-the-past-eu-justice-chief-vows

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00:00Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us today.
00:03You've described the Digital Fairness Act as a major overhaul of European consumer protection.
00:09What would be deemed illegal as part of this proposal starting from today?
00:14Well, first of all, it is a significant reform of EU consumer law
00:18because it reflects the digitalisation of our economy that we have experienced over the last number of years.
00:25And it's the first major update in about 20 years.
00:28And when you consider everything that has happened in our economy over that period of time,
00:33then I think you begin to understand the need for this update to our legislation.
00:39And fundamentally, this is about ensuring that we address gaps in consumer protection law in the online environment.
00:46And so when you talk about banning certain things, for example, so-called dark patterns is one area that we
00:54are focused on.
00:55An example of that would be where you have false scarcity claims where you are online shopping and you're told
01:01there's three of these left.
01:02And in fact, there may not be.
01:04And other pressure selling techniques and manipulative design techniques that are, in effect, intending to trick you
01:12and to get you to spend more money than you ever intended to spend.
01:15So the use of things like double negatives online, pressure techniques whereby, you know, are you sure you want to
01:22make the wrong decision?
01:24Issues like that are being fully addressed under the dark pattern setting.
01:28But of course, there's so much more in this proposal.
01:31We're also giving people the option of switching off addictive design features in digital services.
01:37So things like autoplay, infinite scroll and so on.
01:41But fundamentally, it's about tackling unfair commercial practices in the online environment.
01:47So when we talk about subscription traps that we've all experienced as consumers, when we speak about dynamic pricing and
01:54we're on a virtual queue to buy a ticket for our favorite performer,
01:58we don't know what we're going to end up paying.
02:00When we speak about hidden costs that only become transparent at the very end of the process, when you go
02:06into the digital checkout, all of these issues are being addressed.
02:10And some of the harmful elements of video games, particularly in the context of minors, gambling-like features that we
02:19believe should not be permitted for children.
02:21So it's a very broadly based piece of legislation.
02:24It is converting the unfair commercial practices directive into a regulation.
02:30And that then enables the European Commission to directly enforce certain large-scale cross-border breaches.
02:37Yeah, it sounds like quite a meaty proposal.
02:40But it's my understanding that there are 10 manipulative practices that have been identified specifically.
02:45Why these 10 and why only stop at 10?
02:48Well, all of this is based on extensive consultation and evidence gathering that we have been engaged in for the
02:56past number of years.
02:57Over two years ago, we published the Digital Fairness Fitness Check, where we did a stock take of our laws
03:05for consumers in a digital environment.
03:07And we found many gaps.
03:09And we also took on board the feedback from the National Consumer Protection Authorities, who are the people actually implementing
03:17and enforcing law at the moment on behalf of consumers.
03:21And they said to us that across so many areas, whether it be in dark patterns and addictive design, they
03:27felt that the law was not sufficiently clear and that there was a need for an update,
03:32in effect, in effect, an update patch to be applied to consumer protection rules for the digital environment.
03:39And that's exactly what we are doing.
03:40And so we have used all of that evidence that we have gathered, which, by the way, points to huge
03:46costs annually on consumers of over 10 billion euro per annum at the moment.
03:50And we've put together what we believe is a balanced, a proportionate, but also quite a comprehensive piece of legislation
03:58that tries to be fair to consumers,
04:01but also fair to businesses so that they know exactly what the rulebook is and that they can benefit from
04:06one set of rules on these issues across the European Union.
04:09Because, of course, a regulation will have a direct effect across the 27 member states and you won't have 27
04:16different variations of how it is transposed into national law.
04:19But you mentioned businesses.
04:21Are you expecting a fight or pushback from e-commerce platforms or influences in the European Union?
04:28How are you going to step up to the plate if they come with a fight?
04:33Well, we should acknowledge we see a lot of good practice online as well, but we also see examples where
04:38the interests of consumers are not being protected.
04:42And I passionately believe that innovation and good consumer protection can travel hand in hand.
04:49In fact, I think they are complementary and mutually reinforcing.
04:53If consumers have trust in the digital environment and they have trust in the companies that they are doing business
04:59with,
04:59I think they may well actually spend more and they certainly have more confidence to invest their hard-earned money
05:06in purchasing that good or that service from a particular platform.
05:10Of course, we have to have a backstop and we have to have enforcement provisions and those are set out
05:16in the package that we unveiled at the European Commission.
05:20And what do they look like? What does the enforcement look like?
05:23So, first of all, the enforcement will still primarily be done at a national level.
05:28And in the case of cross-border breaches of consumer law, we will continue to coordinate as a European Commission
05:34the actions of many different national authorities.
05:37But then for the more systemic, large-scale breaches, the Commission will have the power now for the first time
05:43to directly investigate and enforce consumer law.
05:47And in extremis, in the worst-case scenario, we have the potential to impose fines of up to 6%
05:54of worldwide turnover of companies found guilty of these major breaches of consumer law.
05:59That's quite significant.
06:00Moving on to another topic that you cover, as the Justice Commissioner, we've seen a widening constitutional crisis occupy Poland,
06:10with scenes over the last few weeks showing the President, Karol Nawrowski, trying to enter the constitutional tribunal.
06:18He has effectively blocked four judges who have been recently appointed from taking up their new positions.
06:26What do you make of this firestorm that seems to engulf Warsaw at the moment?
06:31Well, the most important thing is that the rule of law is upheld in Poland,
06:36and it falls to the Polish authorities in the first instance to ensure that that is the case,
06:41and also to ensure that when it comes to the appointment of judges, for example,
06:46that it is done in a manner consistent with the Polish Constitutional Tribunal,
06:53and indeed the judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
06:58And I take note of the fact that we had a Venice Commission opinion on these issues as recently as
07:05October,
07:06and there's also irrelevant judgment with interim measures from the European Court of Human Rights earlier this year.
07:13And in essence, it is for the Parliament, it is for the SEM in the case of Poland,
07:18in line with their own constitution and in line with the provisions of the Court of Justice findings,
07:24to appoint judges to serve at the highest level in the judiciary in Poland.
07:30And it's a matter for the national authorities to make sure that they act fully in accordance with their own
07:37constitutional provisions,
07:38and in accordance with the judgments of the Court of Justice.
07:42And we continue to monitor the situation closely, but it's crucial that the rule of law is upheld.
07:47Have you had any correspondence with the Polish President Karol Nawrowski regarding the scenes that we witnessed over the last
07:54few weeks,
07:55and this exact instance of what you're talking about, the rulings from the Venice Commission and other bodies?
08:02Not directly, but my services remain very vigilant and are monitoring the ongoing situation in Poland.
08:09And from our point of view, we want to have a functioning judiciary in every member state of the European
08:14Union.
08:15As you know, we have an annual rule of law report process.
08:18We would have reported on Poland, as we did for every other member state, as recently as July,
08:24where we take stock of a range of issues, including the independence of the justice system,
08:29whether there are adequate anti-corruption mechanisms in place,
08:34whether there's a free and independent media in a country,
08:37and indeed other democratic checks and balances that need to be placed in place also.
08:43In addition, we have a justice scorecard that we produce annually,
08:45where we look and we actually measure the performance of aspects of the justice system in every country.
08:51So, from my point of view, as the Commissioner responsible for justice and rule of law,
08:57what is imperative here is that the rule of law is upheld in Poland,
09:01and the position vindicated whereby it is the Parliament, the SEM,
09:06that can take an important step in the appointment of the judges.
09:10And that decision of the Parliament should be respected by all parties,
09:15and indeed should be implemented in line with the opinion of the Venice Commission,
09:20and in line with the interim measures of the European Court of Human Rights.
09:24But one measure that the Commission could take is Article 7 proceedings,
09:29also known as the nuclear option.
09:30This was previously levelled at Poland,
09:33but Article 7 was withdrawn after the Polish Prime Minister,
09:37Donald Tusk, a pro-EU politician, took office.
09:41Was withdrawing Article 7 against Poland premature,
09:45because it was withdrawn after he promised to solve the constitutional crisis
09:51that continues to grip Poland?
09:53Well, we acknowledge the efforts that have been made to fully restore rule of law in Poland,
09:59and we have been working very closely with the government
10:02to ensure that progress is made on the path to full restoration of rule of law,
10:10and in terms of the necessary justice reforms in that particular member state.
10:15The question of Article 7 is an entirely different matter.
10:20The closure of the procedure was following an assessment of the state of play,
10:27and was based on the full commitment of the government
10:29to continue best efforts on the reform path,
10:33and to uphold the rule of law in Poland.
10:35And we support efforts to uphold the rule of law.
10:37But Karol Nowrowski, him effectively not blocking these judges,
10:42because it's not really up to him to block a constitutional court judge
10:46from taking up their position, that is, the position of the SEM,
10:50as you've rightly pointed out.
10:51Does this not meet the threshold for potentially restarting talks
10:54for what Article 7 could look like for Poland if it continued down this track?
10:58We continue to monitor the situation,
11:01and no decision has been considered or taken by the European Commission
11:06to advance on that path.
11:09We are available to engage with the Polish authorities all the way through,
11:14and I reiterate from my point of view, from the Commission's perspective,
11:18the most important thing here is that the rule of law prevails,
11:22and that the justice system functions,
11:24that the long-established method of the appointment of judges
11:29in line with Poland's constitution
11:31and in line with the judgments of the Court of Justice is respected,
11:36and that the judges who are properly put forward by the Parliament,
11:40by the SEM, should be allowed to take office
11:43and to perform their duties and to serve the citizens of the country.
11:46Polls will head to the polls next year, in November.
11:51Is the European Commission concerned whether a law and justice government
11:56could take power again and de-rode or erode all of the good work
12:01that Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his pro-EU government has done?
12:05Is there any concern from the Commission regarding what could happen in the future?
12:08The European Commission does not get involved in national politics
12:12or express any opinion whatsoever on the decisions that the electorates around Europe face
12:18at any moment in time,
12:19and there are many elections in the European Union that take place all the time.
12:24But what we can say is that for every country,
12:27the rule of law is not an optional extra.
12:30It is a foundational value of the European Union.
12:33It is provided for an Article 2 of our treaty alongside democracy, equality, freedom
12:40and respect for human rights and human dignity.
12:42These are legally binding provisions, so they're not an à la carte menu that we can choose from.
12:48It's a core binding obligation of being a member of the European Union.
12:52It applies to every member state of the EU and indeed to those that aspire to join the European Union.
12:57And these are part of the ongoing discussions that we have as part of the enlargement process
13:01indeed with the candidate countries.
13:03So we don't get involved in the national politics or the conduct of elections.
13:07It's entirely a matter for the national authorities and who people vote for.
13:11It is indeed their sovereign right that we fully defend and will protect in every way we can.
13:18But there are rules and values that are adherent in EU membership
13:23and they must be respected by everybody.
13:25Thank you so much, Commissioner.

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