"Civil society groups urge ambitious digital fairness rules"

More than 200 non-profits pen letter to the Commission pressing for the upcoming Digital Fairness Act to show that simplification is not deregulation

The European Commission must deliver an “ambitious” Digital Fairness Act (DFA) proposal, more than 200 civil society organisations and consumer groups wrote in a letter on Friday, urging the EU’s executive not to step back from plans to strengthen the bloc’s online consumer protection framework.

The letter comes amid ongoing moves by the EU to pare back existing tech rules in a bid to boost the bloc’s competitiveness.

The coalition of consumer interest groups wrote that the DFA needs to ensure “meaningful protection in the digital environment for people of all ages”.

They argue that current rules are no longer fit for challenges created by online platforms, with core EU consumer legislation – such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD) – last updated more than two decades ago.

The DFA offers the Commission “an opportunity to ensure that ‘simplification’ does not become a synonym for deregulation”, they also wrote, pointing to the EU targeting existing tech rules via the omnibus legislation and forthcoming digital fitness check.

The Commission is set to present the DFA by autumn, Euractiv was recently told. [...]