EU to enforce stricter laws on ‘addictive features’ on apps

The European Union has announced on Wednesday that it is producing new consumer safety laws that will crackdown on influencer marketing and addictive features on apps.

The EU’s end goal with the laws is to completely ban online features that trick Europeans by means of forcing platforms to give users the right to turn off “addictive” features.

While Europe has extensive consumer safety laws dealing with issues ranging from data protection to artificial intelligence and online content, EU headquarters in Brussels along with campaigners argue there are still gaps in these laws that leave consumers exposed to harmful digital practices.

The revisions are all within the framework of Europe’s “Digital Fairness Act” (DFA), thus allowing the continent to slap fines on companies of up to six percent of their annual turnover in large-scale cases.

The drive to increase consumer safety was pushed on by official data which showed “problematic” digital practices led to losses for individuals reaching 10.3 billion euros ($11.5 billion) a year.

EU consumer protection chief Michael McGrath has previously said the new rules aim to “step up our fight against unfair commercial practices” while the European Consumer Organizations’ Agustin Reyna said the proposal is a “much-needed tool to give consumers back control of how much time and money they spend online”.

Euroconsumers group which represents users’ rights across several EU countries said “Strong rules only matter if they are properly enforced,” urging lawmakers not to just draft ink on paper but to make sure the laws have tangible effects in the daily lives of European consumers.