Spain wants the future Digital Fairness Act to provide for “clear safeguards” for the protection of minors in digital environments, notably in order to limit the use of monetisation mechanisms considered exploitative in video games, such as ‘loot boxes’ and ‘pay-to-win’ mechanisms, according to a non-paper dated 2 June and seen by Agence Europe.
Spain stresses that consumer choices are “increasingly influenced by the way digital environments are designed”, while commercial decisions are also “supported, filtered or partially delegated to automated systems acting on behalf of consumers”.
“While the implications of these developments are still evolving and should not be prematurely regulated in a prescriptive manner, the Digital Fairness Act should ensure that the EU consumer protection framework remains technologically neutral and capable of remaining effective in increasingly AI-mediated environments”, the Spanish government states.
Madrid insists that this legislation must ensure “the fairness of digital choice environments and address the cumulative effects of digital design, personalisation and automation on consumer decision-making, while remaining technologically neutral, proportionate and innovation-friendly”, thus strengthening the “coherence” of the European digital regulatory rulebook.
Specific safeguards for minors. Spain believes that minors “must be regarded as inherently vulnerable in digital environments” and, on that basis, should be given “specific consideration” under the future Digital Fairness Act. It stresses in particular the need “to limit the use of exploitative monetisation mechanisms in video games, such as ‘loot boxes’ and ‘pay-to-win’ mechanisms”.
In order to address algorithmic opacity and the effects of personalisation, Spain proposes introducing “clear transparency obligations regarding the datasets and parameters used for personalised pricing and advertising”. It is also calling for “targeted prohibitions for specific manipulative interfaces”, such as false urgency messages or ‘confirm-shaming’ practices, which involve making the user feel guilty when rejecting an offer or option.
It also wants “restrict engagement maximising designs that harm consumer well-being”, in order to tackle ‘dark patterns’ and ‘addictive designs’.
Lastly, Spain wants “clear requirements to inform consumers comprehensively whenever dynamic pricing systems are applied and to disclose the range of prices that have been applied to the same good or service in the past” to be established. It also wants to ensure that “digital environments do not trap consumers in automated loops or hidden automatic renewals” and that they must have “the right to access accessible and effective human assistance” to resolve disputes or terminate a contract. (Original version in French by Ana Pisonero Hernández)