Wired:
The European Commission announced a sweeping set of updates to consumer law on Wednesday to protect European Union citizens from “harmful digital practices”—whether while online shopping, browsing social media, or doing their Duolingo lesson.
…Proposed rules include banning dark patterns—practices which manipulate consumers into making decisions they would not otherwise make, such as falsely claiming a product is running low. They will also curb dynamic pricing by ticket retailers, like Ticketmaster; force influencers to disclose when they are being paid to promote a product; outrule personalized advertising and pricing targeting minors or taking advantage of sensitive data; make digital subscriptions easier to cancel; and give consumers a right to interact with human customer service.
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The bill will also enable all consumers to turn off addictive design features on digital services, such as autoplay of videos and streaks—including on apps like Strava and Duolingo.
I am all for eliminating predatory elastic pricing, and I agree that streaks are harmful.
