Today, the Commission is proposing to modernise and simplify rules on out-of-court dispute resolution to adapt them to digital markets. This proposal will expand the range of issues that can be resolved through the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Directive out-of-court, including matters related to misleading advertising, access to services and unjustified geoblocking. To make this option more accessible to consumers, designated bodies such as the European Consumer Centres Network will assist consumers in understanding and accessing alternative dispute resolution procedures. The goal of the proposal is also to expedite the procedures.

The Commission also adopted today a Recommendation to align online marketplaces dispute resolution systems with the European standards for fair and efficient Alternative Dispute Resolution. For example, a fair and efficient ADR needs to be transparent about the different steps of the procedure, or ensure that mediators are independent, with no financial conflict of interest. It also outlines best practices to resolve crossborder disputes for EU-wide trade associations to implement.

Improvements brought by the new rules

• Expanding the scope of the Directive: The Directive will encompass all aspects of EU consumer law and extend its reach to non-EU traders, addressing unfair practices like manipulative interfaces, manipulative advertising, or geo-blocking rules. Under the revised Directive, ADR will be able to address such practices, that are currently not in scope.
• Incentivising the participation of businesses: Under this proposal, unless specific EU law or national legislation imposes trader participation in out-of-court dispute resolution, businesses will continue to be free to decide whether to participate in alternative dispute resolution or not. However, if a consumer asks for ADR intervention, the business will be obliged to reply within 20 working days. This approach will speed up the overall process and encourage traders to participate in the process. Additionally, it reduces information obligations for traders.
• Improving Consumer Assistance: Customised support will be provided to consumers, especially vulnerable ones, to launch their case, from translation, to explanations on the procedure, fees, or physical documentation. Member States will designate contact points to facilitate communication between consumers and traders, assist with the process, and provide general information on EU consumer rights and means of redress.

Next steps

The Commission’s proposal has to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

Background

According to the 2023 Consumer scoreboard, a quarter of consumers experienced a problem worthy of complaint but a third of them did not act due to lengthy procedure times, small amounts involved, or low confidence in a satisfactory solution to the problem. This results in only 300,000 eligible disputes annually in the EU.

According to the impact assessment caried out by the Commission, the extension of the scope envisaged by the proposed Directive could bring 100,000 new eligible disputes. It also mandates businesses to respond, potentially bringing another 100,000 disputes.

The Commission proposal maintains the minimum harmonisation approach. Member States will remain free to decide on the architecture and governance of ADR at national level whilst ensuring full coverage of disputes with a consumer protection angle. The Commission will maintain the current multi-lingual list of quality ADR entities.

The Commission has been awarding yearly grants to ADR entities to improve awareness raising and case management. Nevertheless, the proposal flags that parties should be made aware if automated means are used in the process and inclusive tools are to be used to ensure that digitally unskilled consumers are not at a disadvantage.

For More Information

Alternative dispute resolution for consumers (europa.eu)

European Consumer Centres Network

Consumer Conditions Survey of 2021

List of quality ADR entities

Report on the application of a Directive on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and Regulation on online dispute resolution for consumer disputes 

Impact assessment report (1/2) on the Proposal for a Directive on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, as well as Directives (EU) 2015/2302, (EU) 2019/2161 and (EU) 2020/1828 

Evaluation – Impact assessment report (2/2) on the Proposal for a Directive amending Directive 2013/11/EU on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes, as well as Directives (EU) 2015/2302, (EU) 2019/2161 and (EU) 2020/1828 

Online Dispute Resolution | European Commission (europa.eu)

Consumer Conditions Scoreboard

Following a dialogue with the European Commission and national consumer authorities (CPC network), Edreams ODIGEO, Etraveli Group and Kiwi.com committed to better inform consumers of their rights in case of flight cancellations by airlines and to transfer ticket refunds within seven days after receiving them from the airlines, meaning that consumers should receive them after a total of 14 days.

Under EU passenger rights, airlines cancelling a flight are required to refund tickets within seven days once the passenger has opted to have the flight reimbursed. However, airline tickets can also be bought through an intermediary (an ‘online travel agency’).  As a result of this dialogue, the three major European airline intermediaries provide clarity for such cases: consumers will receive their refund within 14 days maximum. This step also helps create a fair and level playing field within the travel airline industry.

This action complements a previous dialogue with 16 major European airlines that resulted in those airlines committing to respect the 7-day time limit for reimbursements, and reimbursing over 500,000 flight vouchers that they had imposed on consumers following flight cancellations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 dialogue with the airlines had cast a spotlight on additional delays experienced by consumers when cancelled tickets had been purchased through an intermediary.

Overview of commitments

The online travel agencies concerned by the action are: eDreams ODIGEO (with brands such as eDreams, Opodo, Go Voyages, Travellink, and Liligo); Etraveli Group (with brands such as Mytrip, GotoGate, Flybillet, Flightnetwork, Supersavetravel, seat24 and Travelstart); and Kiwi.com. The action originally also addressed Otravo that, however, ceased operations in December 2022.

Following the dialogue, the online travel agencies made the following commitments:

• In case of cancelled flights, the online travel agencies will transfer refunds from the airline on to the consumer within 7 days from the day the online travel agency receives the refund from the airline. This will result in a refund in 14 days for consumers having bought their ticket through an online travel agency. Remaining backlogs in transferring refunds received from airlines have been or will be cleared by 30 June 2023 at the latest.
• The online travel agencies’ telephone number and e-mail address will be provided in or via the support or ‘contact us’ sections of their websites – so that consumers can communicate with them also via e-mail or telephone.
• Information on the specific benefits linked to different service packages offered by the online travel agencies will be made clearer for consumers.
• Consumers will be clearly informed about their statutory rights under the Air Passenger Rights Regulation to rerouting or reimbursement in cases where the airline cancels their flights. They will also be clearly informed if the flight was cancelled.
• Consumers will be clearly informed about the consequences that specific services offered by airline intermediaries can have on the consumer’s rights in the event of a flight disruption (e.g. that contact details may not have been transferred to the airlines, or that when only one leg of a trip is cancelled, the second leg may still have to be paid where there is no interlink between the flights constituting the journey).

The three major European airline intermediaries agreed to introduce the changes to its practices ahead of the upcoming summer holiday season, by 30 June 2023.

Next steps

The network of European consumer protection authorities will now close its dialogues with all airline intermediaries, but authorities will continue to monitor whether commitments are correctly implemented. The network will furthermore continue to monitor compliance by airlines with their commitments under the CPC action against 16 major airlines conducted in 2021.

Background

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, under the leadership of the Swedish Consumer Agency, launched this action in June 2022. This was in view of the persistently difficult reimbursement conditions for consumers who were affected by early COVID-19 flight cancellations. The action was based also on the information gathered in the context of the dialogues of consumer authorities with airlines held in 2021, as well as complaints from EU consumers submitted to national authorities and bodies.  

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network is a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. To tackle cross-border infringements of consumer law, those national authorities, assisted by the European Commission, coordinate their investigation and enforcement actions. The specific cooperation and coordination mechanism under which the network operates is governed by the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation.  

For More Information

Consumer protection: Airlines reimburse over 500,000 flight vouchers as result of Commission and consumer authorities action in COVID-19 pandemic

Coordinated consumer actions: air travel

Consumer Protection Cooperation Network

EU Passenger Rights

Today, the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), enters into force. The new rules seek to address major societal changes that have affected consumer product safety in the past two decades, such as increasing digitalisation, new technological developments, and globalised supply chains. This modernised framework will ensure that only safe products are offered to consumers, regardless of the origin of the products and whether they are sold in shops or on online marketplaces.

In addition, the Commission is announcing today its call for applications for the 2023 edition of the EU Product Safety Award. This competition brings together successful and talented businesses and researchers, who want to make a difference for the safety of consumers. This year, the EU Product Safety Award focuses on businesses that innovate and invest to improve the safety of young people.

New EU general product safety rules

The objective of the new General Product Safety Regulation is to ensure that all consumer products on the EU market are safe. It applies to non-food products, be they sold offline or online. The Regulation provides for a real safety net for consumers adressing safety of products or risks not regulated in other EU legislation, more specifically by:

• key elements such as the evolving nature of a product or its interconnectivity in the safety assessment of consumer products;
• improving the conditions for product safety between online and offline sales;
• establishing specific product safety requirements for online marketplaces to protect consumers against dangerous products sold via online marketplaces;
• extending the obligation for all non-harmonised products imported to the EU to have an economic operator in the EU responsible for the product safety issues;
• providing national authorities with necessary tools, thus stepping up their enforcement powers;
• ensuring effective product recalls by requiring direct contacts of consumers and standardised recall notices.

Call for application for the 2023 Product Safety Award

The 2023 EU Product Safety Award focuses on businesses that innovate and invest to improve the safety of young people. For the first time, researchers may also take part in the competition. The categories of the Product Safety Award include distinctions for both small and medium-sized enterprises and large companies, as well as for early-career and senior researchers. Applications are open until 8 September 2023.

Background

Online sales have increased steadily in the last 20 years. Statistics from the Safety Gate showed that 31% of alerts concern dangerous products sold online. The new General Product Safety Regulation addresses these digitalisation challenges and also risks related to new technology products.

The revision of the General Product Safety Directive was one of the actions set out in the New Consumer agenda from November 2020 on strengthening consumer resilience for sustainable recovery. The Commission tabled the proposal on the General Product Safety Regulation in June 2021, with the aim of improving the safety of consumer products on the Union market and updating the general product safety framework set out in the 2001 General Product Safety Directive. The European Parliament and Council have adopted it in March and April 2023.

The EU Product Safety Award is organised every two years by the European Commission. It celebrates business initiatives and research that go the extra mile to raise the bar for consumer product safety across the EU. To apply, companies must be based in one of the 30 European Economic Area countries (the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein). Likewise, researchers need to be the nationals of one of the EEA countries or be affiliated to academic institutions based in the EEA. After an eligibility screening, a jury panel of policy and safety experts selects the finalists in each category. Winners of this year’s award will be announced during the official gala ceremony hosted in Brussels in December this year.  

For More Information

General Product Safety Regulation 

General Product Safety Directive (europa.eu)

Consumer product safety

2023 EU Product Safety Award

Following an alert from the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the European Commission and EU consumer authorities (Network of Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Authorities) contacted Nintendo to address a recurring technical problem with irresponsive controllers. Following this action, Nintendo has agreed to offer all consumers the right to repair for affected controllers of the “Nintendo Switch” gaming console free of charge, even beyond the legal guarantee. The joint action was led by the Greek Ministry of Development and Investments and the German Environment Agency, and coordinated by the European Commission.

Consumers using the Nintendo Switch console had reported to CPC authorities and consumer associations that they have been dealing with deterioration and a loss of control of the console. As the problem rendered controllers useless, consumers who could not repair them easily or free of charge were obliged to replace them, resulting in unnecessary electronic waste. As a result of the action, Nintendo agreed to offer and indicate clearly that defective Joy-Con controllers will be repaired without charge by Nintendo’s repair centers, irrespective of whether this has been caused by a defect or by wear and tear, and even if the manufacturer’s guarantee given by Nintendo has expired.

Background

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. To address cross-border issues, their actions are coordinated at EU level by the European Commission.

National authorities are responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Under the updated Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, they now have stronger powers to detect irregularities and take speedy action against rogue traders.

This technical problem known as the “Joy-Con drift” affected both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite consoles. BEUC’s member organisations had received nearly 25,000 consumer complaints about the Nintendo Switch console by January 2021.

On 22 March, the Commission adopted a proposal on the right to repair. The proposal will make it easier and more cost-effective for consumers to repair as opposed to replace goods. Once the new rules are in place, they will ensure that more products are repaired within the legal guarantee, and that consumers have easier and cheaper options to repair products that are technically repairable (such as electronic displays for example) when the legal guarantee has expired or when the good is not functional anymore as a result of wear and tear. The Commission’s proposal has to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

Moreover, the Commission proposed to update the EU consumer rules to empower consumers for the green transition. Additionally, the initiative on Substantiating Green Claims will make it easier for consumers to make sustainable purchasing choices and stop companies from making misleading claims about environmental merits of their products and services.

The proposed revisions in EU consumer law were announced in the New Consumer Agenda and the Circular Economy Action Plan. The revisions aim to support the changes needed in consumer behaviour to achieve climate and environmental objectives under the European Green Deal by ensuring that consumers have better information on the durability and reparability of products, as well as protecting consumers from commercial practices that prevent them from shopping more sustainably.

For More Information

Common position of national authorities of the CPC Network concerning the commercial practices of Nintendo of Europe GmbH

More information on consumer enforcement actions

Today, the European Commission has published the results of the 2023 Consumer Conditions Scoreboard, a survey on consumption habits in the EU Member States, as well as in Iceland and Norway. The data shows that almost half of consumers (48%) were worried about being able to pay their bills, and a large majority (71%) took measures to reduce their energy consumption at home. In addition, the vast majority of consumers also expressed concerns about their safety online, particularly, 94% said that they were worried about online targeted advertising.

Main findings of the 2023 Consumer Conditions Scoreboard

• 48% of respondents expressed concern about their ability to pay their bills, including mortgages and transport to work. More than a third reported that they dipped into their savings (37%) and one in ten saw an increase in their mortgages, notably due to variable interests rates.
• In response to energy price hikes, more than half of consumers report that they have changed their habits, be it to save energy at home (71%), by using public subsidies for energy efficiency measures and/or by changing their use of transport (28%).
• Although the vast majority of consumers believe that they should personally do more to contribute to the green transition and tackling climate change, they were split in terms of the extent to which the environmental impact of goods and services influenced their choices: 43% declared that they were not at all influenced by environmental concerns in their purchasing decisions. There are also big variations between sectors, with cars topping the list in terms of the importance of environmental impact consumers felt when making a choice (81%). In addition, fewer consumers expressed their beliefs in the reliability of environmental claims than in 2020 (-5 pp), which could be attributed to a higher level of awareness about greenwashing.
• As e-commerce sales grow year on year, consumers are increasingly exposed to frequent unfair practices online. The three most frequently reported practices were: personally targeted online advertising (76%), hidden advertising in search results (75%) and disingenuous consumer reviews (69%). With regards to online advertising in particular, 94% expressed concerns about it, with 70% worried about inappropriate use and sharing of personal data, 66% about the collection of online data and related profiling without explicit knowledge or agreement and 57% about cookies’ installation.

Next steps

The results will be discussed amongst participants at the Commission’s annual Consumer Summit tomorrow, hosted by Commissioner Reynders. More than 400 participants, including the EU ministers from the Member States of the current and upcoming Council Presidencies (Sweden, Spain, Belgium and Hungary), will hold discussions on consumer protection during crises, the achievements under the New Consumer Agenda and the future of EU consumer policy, including on how to better address digital challenges.

Background

The Consumer Conditions Scoreboard is a biennial reporting exercise to monitor consumer sentiment across the EU, as well as in Iceland and Norway. It collects data on national conditions for consumers with regards to knowledge and trust, compliance and enforcement and complaints and dispute resolution.

The data for this year’s report was gathered through surveys carried out in October and November 2022 around topical themes, including consumer habits during crises, as well as regarding the green and digital transitions.

Since the summer of 2021, energy prices have seen unprecedented spikes and volatility, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This has had a severe impact on EU households and the economy. To mitigate the effect of these market dynamics, the Commission has proposed and Member States have agreed to a wide range of emergency measures to tackle high energy prices and mitigate their impact on consumers. In the Communication ‘Tackling rising energy prices: a toolbox for action and support‘, the Commission first clarified which measures at national level, such as income support and regulated prices, were possible under existing EU law. The toolbox was then updated in Spring 2022, when the Commission also presented the REPowerEU Plan, for the EU to regain its energy independence and get rid of Russian fossil fuel imports as soon as possible. Throughout 2022, the EU has then introduced measures on gas storage, coordinated gas demand reduction, a gas market correction mechanism as well as an emergency intervention to address high energy prices by reducing electricity demand and redistributing windfall profits from the energy sector to consumers, among others. More recently, on 14 March, the Commission proposed to reform the EU’s electricity market design. A key objective of the reform is to enhance the protection of consumers from volatile prices and to empower them with greater contract choice, as well as more direct access to renewable energy, with extra protection envisioned for the most vulnerable consumers. More information on actions and measures on energy prices is available here.

For More Information

Consumer Scoreboards

Today, the Commission is proposing common criteria against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims. Under today’s proposal, consumers will have more clarity, stronger reassurance that when something is sold as green, it actually is green, and better quality information to choose environment-friendly products and services. Businesses will also benefit, as those that make a genuine effort to improve the environmental sustainability of their products will be more easily recognised and rewarded by consumers and able to boost their sales – rather than face unfair competition. This way, the proposal will help establish a level playing field when it comes to information about environmental performance of products.

A Commission study from 2020 highlighted that 53.3% of examined environmental claims in the EU were found to be vague, misleading or unfounded and 40% were unsubstantiated. The absence of common rules for companies making voluntary green claims leads to ‘greenwashing’ and creates an uneven playing field in the EU’s market, to the disadvantage of genuinely sustainable companies.

Reliable, comparable and verifiable information for consumers

According to the proposal, when companies choose to make a ‘green claim’ about their products or services, they will have to respect minimum norms on how they substantiate these claims and how they communicate them.

The proposal targets explicit claims, such as for example: ‘T-shirt made of recycled plastic bottles’, ‘CO2 compensated delivery’, ‘packaging made of 30% recycled plastic’ or ‘ocean friendly sunscreen’. It also aims to tackle the proliferation of labels as well as new public and private environmental labels. It covers all voluntary claims about the environmental impacts, aspects or performance of a product, service or the trader itself. However, it excludes claims that are covered by existing EU rules, such as the EU Ecolabel or the organic food logo, because the current laws already ensure that these regulated claims are reliable. Claims which will be covered by upcoming EU regulatory rules, will be excluded for the same reason. 

Before companies communicate any of the covered types of ‘green claims’ to consumers, such claims will need to be independently verified and proven with scientific evidence. As part of the scientific analysis, companies will identify the environmental impacts that are actually relevant to their product, as well as identifying any possible trade-offs, to give a full and accurate picture.

Clear and harmonised rules and labels

Several rules will make sure that claims are communicated clearly. For example, claims or labels that use aggregate scoring of the product’s overall environmental impact, will no longer be permitted, unless set in EU rules. If products or organisations are compared with others, such comparisons should be based on equivalent information and data.

The proposal will also regulate environmental labels. There are currently at least 230 different labels and there is evidence that this leads to consumer confusion and distrust. To control the proliferation of such labels, new public labelling schemes will not be allowed, unless developed at EU level, and any new private schemes will need to show higher environmental ambition than existing ones and get a pre-approval to be allowed. There are detailed rules about environmental labels in general: they must also be reliable, transparent, independently verified, and regularly reviewed.

Next steps

Following the ordinary legislative procedure, the Green Claims Directive proposal will now be subject to the approval of the European Parliament and the Council. 

Background

Today’s proposal complements the March 2022 proposal on ‘empowering consumers for the green transition’ by providing more specific rules on environmental claims, in addition to a general prohibition of misleading advertising. Today’s proposal is also presented together with a proposal on common rules promoting the repair of goods, which will also contribute to sustainable consumption and enhance the circular economy.

Today’s proposal makes good on an important Commission commitment as part of the European Green Deal. It is the third package of proposals on circular economy, together with the proposal on common rules promoting the repair of goods. The first and second circular economy packages were adopted in March and November 2022.  The first package included the new proposed Regulation on Ecodesign for Sustainable Products, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, and the proposed Consumer law directive on empowering consumers in the green transition. The second package included the proposals for the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, the communication on biodegradable, biobased and compostable plastics and the proposed EU Certification for Carbon Removals Regulation. 

For More Information

Proposal for a Directive on New rules on substantiating green claims

Questions and Answers: New criteria on substantiating green claims

Factsheet

Webpage on green claims

Proposal for a Directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods

Press release – Promoting Repair and Reuse

Questions and Answers – Promoting Repair and Reuse

Promoting Repair and Reuse – Website

Today, the European Commission adopted a new proposal on common rules promoting the repair of goods, which will result in savings for consumers and support the objectives of the European Green Deal by reducing waste, among others. Over the last decades, replacement has often been prioritised over repair whenever products become defective and insufficient incentives have been given to consumers to repair their goods when the legal guarantee expires. The proposal will make it easier and more cost-effective for consumers to repair as opposed to replace goods. Additionally, more demand will translate into a boost to the repair sector while incentivising producers and sellers to develop more sustainable business models.

Today’s proposal will ensure that more products are repaired within the legal guarantee, and that consumers have easier and cheaper options to repair products that are technically repairable (such as vacuum cleaners, or soon, tablets and smartphones) when the legal guarantee has expired or when the good is not functional anymore as a result of wear and tear.

New measures to promote and facilitate repair and reuse

The proposal introduces a new ‘right to repair’ for consumers, both within and beyond the legal guarantee.

Within the legal guarantee, sellers will be required to offer repair except when it is more expensive than replacement.

Beyond the legal guarantee, a new set of rights and tools will be available to consumers to make ‘repair’ an easy and accessible option:

• A right for consumers to claim repair to producers, for products that are technically repairable under EU law, like a washing machine or a TV. This will ensure that consumers always have someone to turn to when they opt to repair their products, as well as encourage producers to develop more sustainable business models.
• A producers’ obligation to inform consumers about the products that they are obliged to repair themselves.
• An online matchmaking repair platform to connect consumers with repairers and sellers of refurbished goods in their area. The platform will enable searches by location and quality standards, helping consumers find attractive offers, and boosting visibility for repairers.
• A European Repair Information Form which consumers will be able to request from any repairer, bringing transparency to repair conditions and price, and make it easier for consumers to compare repair offers.
• A European quality standard for repair services will be developed to help consumers identify repairers who commit to a higher quality. This ‘easy repair’ standard will be open to all repairers across the EU willing to commit to minimum quality standards, for example based on duration, or availability of products.

Next steps

The Commission’s proposal has to be adopted by the European Parliament and the Council.

Background

A recent Eurobarometer showed that 77% of Europeans feel a personal responsibility to act to limit climate change. Discarded products are often viable goods that can be repaired but are often tossed prematurely, resulting in 35 million tons of waste, 30 million tons of resources and 261 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU every year. Furthermore, the loss for consumers of opting for replacement instead of repair is estimated at almost 12 billion per year. Additionally, the initiative is estimated to bring EUR 4.8 billion in growth and investment in the EU.

However, repair is often seen as difficult by consumers. The ‘right to repair’ initiative complements several other proposals presented by the Commission to achieve sustainable consumption throughout the entire lifecycle of a product, setting the framework for a true ‘right to repair’ across the EU.

This proposal is part of the European Commission’s broader goal of becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050. This can only happen if consumers and businesses are consuming and producing more sustainably.

The ‘right to repair’ proposal was announced in the New Consumer Agenda and the Circular Economy Action Plan. It tackles obstacles that discourage consumers to repair due to inconvenience, lack of transparency or difficult access to repair services. It therefore encourages repair as a more sustainable consumption choice, which contributes to the climate and environmental objectives under the European Green Deal.

This initiative complements other instruments that pursue the European Green Deal objective of sustainable consumption by means of repair. On the supply side, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products regulation promotes the reparability of products in the production phase. On the demand side, the proposal for a Directive on Empowering consumers for the green transition enables consumers to make informed purchasing decisions at the point of sale. This proposal strengthens the demand side by promoting repair in the after-sales phase. The three initiatives together cover the entire lifecycle of a product, complementing and reinforcing each other.

Additionally, the initiative on Substantiating Green Claims, also adopted today, will make it easier for consumers to support the green transition through their purchasing choices and stop companies from making misleading claims about environmental merits of their products and services. This initiative also complements the Proposal ‘Empowering consumers for the green transition’ which sets the horizontal framework against greenwashing.

For More Information

Proposal for a Directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods

Promoting Repair and Reuse – Questions and Answers

Promoting Repair and Reuse – Website

Proposal on the Directive on Green Claims

European Green Deal: New rules to stop ‘greenwashing’ – Press release

New rules on substantiating green claims – Questions and Answers

New rules on substantiating green claims – Factsheet

Initiative on substantiating green claims – Environment – European Commission – Website

Today, the European Commission and national consumer protection authorities of 23 Member States, Norway and Iceland (CPC Network), released the results of a screening (“sweep”) of retail websites. This check covered 399 online shops of retail traders selling products ranging from textiles to electronic goods. It also focused on three specific types of manipulative practices that are often known to push consumers into making choices that may not be in their best interest, so-called ‘dark patterns’. These include: fake countdown timers; web interfaces designed to lead consumers to purchases, subscriptions or other choices; and hidden information. The investigation showed that 148 sites contained at least one of these three dark patterns.

Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, said: “Our screening shows that nearly 40% of the online shopping websites rely on manipulative practices to exploit consumers’ vulnerabilities or trick them. This behavior is clearly wrong and against consumer protection. Today we already have binding tools to help tackle such issues and I call on national authorities to make use of their enforcement capacities to take relevant action and fight these practices. In parallel, the Commission is reviewing all consumer legislation to ensure it is fit for the digital age, including to assess whether dark patterns are adequately covered.”  

• 42 websites used fake countdown timers with deadlines to purchase specific products;
• 54 websites directed consumers towards certain choices – from subscriptions to more expensive products or delivery options – either through their visual design or choice of language;
• 70 websites were found to be hiding important information or making it less visible for consumers. For example, this included information related to delivery costs, the composition of products, or on the availability of a cheaper option. 23 websites were hiding information with the aim of manipulating consumers into entering into a subscription;
•  The sweep also included the apps of 102 of the websites screened, 27 of which also deployed at least one of the three catagories of dark patterns.

Next steps

National authorities will now contact the traders concerned to rectify their websites and  take further action if necessary, according to their national procedures.

In addition to this sweep and as part of its broader efforts to tackle dark patterns to complement the work of the CPC network, the Commission will also contact online traders identified in a 2022 study on unfair commercial practices in the digital environment to ask them to rectify the issues identified here.

In addition, the Commission is gathering feedback on three directives related to consumer protection, to determine whether they ensure a high level of protection in the digital environment: the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the Consumer Rights Directive, and the Unfair Contract Terms Directive. A public consultation is open until 20 February 2023.

Background

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. To tackle cross-border issues, their actions are coordinated at EU level.

National authorities are responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Thanks to the updated Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, they now have stronger powers to detect irregularities and take speedy action against rogue traders.

The new Digital Services Act will prohibit dark patterns on online platforms. It will complement rules such as the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive or the General Data Protection Regulation, ensuring that no regulatory gap is left for platforms to manipulate users.

Moreover, the new Directive on better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules, amended existing EU consumer law instruments by further enhancing transparency for consumers when they buy on online marketplaces.

Sweeps are carried out by the network using a set of common criteria prepared by the European Commission. Information on previous sweeps can be found here.

For More Information

Sweeps: Website checks

Consumer protection regulation: Factsheet

Have you ever struggled to understand whether you were buying directly from Google or from a different brand, or had difficulty finding information about final costs? In order to further align its practices with EU law – mainly on lack of transparency and clear information to consumers – Google has committed to introduce changes in several of its products and services. Following a dialogue started in 2021 with the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC), coordinated by the European Commission and led by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets and the Belgian Directorate-General for Economic Inspection, Google has agreed to address issues raised by the authorities and to  introduce changes in Google Store, Google Play Store, Google Hotels and Google Flights to ensure compliance with EU consumer rules.

Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders said: “Even today, almost three years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we see an increasing number of consumers turn to the internet to book their holidays, make purchases, or consult a review. EU consumers are entitled to clear, complete information so that they can make informed choices. The commitments made by Google are a step forward in this direction. We call on Google to comply fully with  the Geo-blocking Regulation, ensuring that consumers can enjoy the same rights and access the same content, wherever they are in the EU.”

Overview of commitments:

Following the dialogue, Google has committed to limit its capacity to make unilateral changes related to orders when it comes to price or cancellations, and to create an email address whose use is reserved to consumer protection authorities, so that they can report and request the quick removal of illegal content.

Moreover, Google agreed to introduce a series of changes to its practices, such as:

Google Flights and Google Hotels:

• Make clear to consumers whether they contract directly with Google or whether it is simply acting as an intermediary;
• Clarify the price used as a reference when discounts are advertised on the platform, as well as the fact that reviews are not verified on Google Hotels;

•  Accept the same transparency commitments as other big accommodation platforms as regards the way it presents information to consumers, for example, on prices or availability.

Google Play Store and Google Store:

• Provide clear pre-contractual information on delivery costs, right of withdrawal and availability of repair or replacement options. Furthermore, Google will facilitate also information on the company (e.g. legal name and address) and direct and effective contact points (e.g. a live telephone agent);

• Clarify how to browse different country versions of the Google Play Store and inform developers about their obligations under the Geo-blocking Regulation to make their apps accessible EU-wide, as well as enable consumers to use means of payment from any EU country.

Next steps

The Consumer Protection Cooperation Network (CPC) will actively monitor the implementation of these commitments, and national authorities will monitor and enforce compliance where concerns remain. Particularly, since there is one practice by Google that still does not comply fully with the Geo-blocking Regulation, as the company applies technical limitations for the use of the apps which would normally be available in the country where the user is temporarily located. Google justified that users can change their country of residence once a year to have access to the local apps and games of another Member State. However, that change may cause the loss of acquired content and outstanding credit, which is considered as an infringement to the Geo-blocking Regulation.

Background

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. To tackle cross-border issues, their actions are coordinated at EU level.

National authorities are responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. Thanks to the updated Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, they now have stronger powers to detect irregularities and take speedy action against rogue traders.

Moreover, the new Directive on better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules, amended existing EU consumer law instruments by further enhancing transparency for consumers when they buy on online marketplaces.

Cooperation applies to consumer rules covering various areas such as unfair commercial practices, e-commerce, geo-blocking, package holidays, online selling, and passenger rights.

For More Information

Common position of national authorities of the CPC Network concerning the commercial practices and terms and conditions of Google.com

Complete list of changes

More information on consumer enforcement actions