Commission Publishes DFA Consultation Summary Report
The European Commission Publishes Summary Report of Public Consultation on Digital Fairness Act and Sends Additional Stakeholder Survey
The Commission has just published the “Public consultation on the Digital Fairness Act - Factual summary report”, a synthesis of stakeholder input.
Although it does not officially represent the Commission’s positions, it might give an early indication of what the Commission may focus on for the Digital Fairness Act.
DFA Stakeholder Surveys Sent by Commission
Two detailed questionnaires circulated by the European Commission to stakeholders (according by MLex) offer a more granular snapshot of the themes being tested for the DFA, and are intended to inform the Commission’s impact assessment work. The questionnaires probe how current EU consumer rules may fall short in digital settings, particularly around manipulative interface practices, “addictive” engagement features, influencer marketing, and personalisation practices, plus explicitly ask stakeholders to provide evidence of harms and practical experience.
MLex notes that some often-associated DFA topics do not appear in the questionnaires, including references to dynamic pricing and the sale of illegal or non-compliant products by Chinese online retailers.
A significant share of the questions concentrates on minors: respondents are asked to describe potential health, psychological, developmental, social and financial risks; to react to options around age-assurance (including verification); and to consider whether an EU-wide “digital age” for independently accessing/consenting to services should be harmonised, alongside potential trade-offs such as privacy impacts, exclusion risks, and compliance burdens.
The questionnaires also look into video-game design choices (including loot boxes, virtual currencies, and “pay-to-win” mechanics), exploring options such as transparency measures, parental tools, and possible restrictions for minors.
More broadly, they test ideas such as expanding prohibited interface practices (with references to alignment with the Digital Services Act), introducing a potential “fairness by design” obligation (including ex ante assessment of interfaces/recommendation systems/algorithms), and strengthening enforcement levers, while also revisiting how concepts like the “average” or “vulnerable” consumer should operate in personalised, attention-scarce environments.
DG JUST seems to have also sent the following survey (below) to stakeholders.
It does not appear to be one of the two surveys referenced in MLex’s report, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Panel of experts on Protection of Minors Online
In a recent exchange with the press, a spokesperson confirmed that the Commission is still working on the planned panel of experts on the protection of minors online, which President von der Leyen announced in September. Asked whether the panel will indeed be set up by the end of the year (as previously announced), the spokesperson asked for a bit more patience.
BEUC: Influencer Marketing Unboxed
BEUC has published a new report, “Influencer Marketing Unboxed: Exposing how the fast fashion and food sectors hook consumers”. It is based on evidence-gathering by 14 BEUC consumer organisations from 12 countries, which monitored around 650 influencer posts and videos on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat between March and September 2025, with a specific focus on fast fashion and unhealthy food promotion.
The report describes widespread hidden advertising and techniques that appeal to emotions to shape consumer preferences, including among younger audiences, and argues that the current EU framework only partially addresses these practices. BEUC links the findings to ongoing policy discussions, explicitly pointing to the EU Digital Fairness Act.
Freshfields Blog
Freshfields’ Technology Quotient blog has published two new pieces relevant to the Digital Fairness Act file:
Digital Fairness Act Public Consultation Analysis: What Stakeholders were asking for and what it means for the proposed DFA? - 18 Dec 2025
Digital Fairness Fitness Check and Digital Fairness Act Part 9: CPC Regulation - 16 Dec 2025
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