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Duolingo, Strava, and Ticketmaster Are All Caught Up in EU’s New Digital Fairness Rules

WIRED • November 11, 2026 • business

Key Points:

The European Commission introduced the Digital Fairness Act as part of a comprehensive update to EU consumer law, aiming to protect citizens from harmful digital practices such as dark patterns, dynamic pricing, and undisclosed influencer promotions.
The Act will ban manipulative design features, restrict personalized advertising targeting minors or sensitive data, simplify digital subscription cancellations, and guarantee consumers the right to human customer service interaction.
This reform is the most significant update to EU consumer protection in over 20 years, addressing challenges posed by ecommerce, the attention economy, and data-driven marketing.
The legislation extends protections against addictive digital designs, like autoplay and streaks, to all consumers—not just minors—and complements existing rules under the Digital Services Act and upcoming regulations like the AI Act.
Enforcement will be strengthened with cross-border cooperation, direct investigation powers, and fines up to 6% of global turnover, while non-EU companies must appoint local legal representatives to ensure compliance.

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