The 6th edition of Consumer Leadership Academy (CLA) was held at the Faculty of Management at the University of Warsaw, this time under the motto "Digital Fairness Unveiled: Navigating EU Consumer Rights in the Digital Age". The event, organised in cooperation with the Centre for liable Social Innovation and the European Commission, brought together experts, officials and representatives of consumer organisations from across Europe to discuss the future of consumer rights in the digital age.
The focus was on Digital Fairness Act (DFA) – a fresh EU legal act designed to regulate, among others, the transparency of algorithms, manipulation interfaces (dark patterns) and pricing techniques.
"Digital justice is possibly the most crucial political negotiation process conducted by the European Commission in the area of regulation of digital markets," he noted. Prof. Krzysztof Klincewicz, manager of the Centre for liable Social Innovation from the University of Warsaw. As he added, DFA is simply a consequence to problems that all net user knows: “Manipulation with consumer decisions, abuse of dominant position, flood of advertising – all of this requires a system-wide arrangement.”
One of the crucial problems raised by the prof. is the dark patterns, i.e. digital practices aimed at “manipulating” the user in circumstantial actions: “They have been identified by the European Commission as a set of bad practices that request to be eradicated. But it is not simple – due to the fact that in any contexts it may seem beneficial.”
There was besides a mention to price dynamics in e-commerce: "Dynamic prices can be both a tool of abuse and a useful mechanics – just look at last minute offers in travel agencies. Therefore, we must be careful not to fire the baby with a bath.”
The prof. besides pointed out that we are only at the beginning of the road: “This is the phase of collecting different perspectives – we are analysing what is worth regulating and what should stay outside the scope of legal interference.”
For DFA consumers, it means more control and transparency: no more hidden consents, hard to refuse subscriptions and digital manipulation. As Prof. Klincewicz noted: “In the future, each of us will feel these changes – as he felt the GDPR or the Omnibus Directive.”
The presence of representatives of the European Commission and the Ministry of Digital Affairs shows that Poland is not on the side but actively active in shaping the digital future of the European Union. "The fact that the Commission has organised part of this process in Poland shows how crucial a local position is for Brussels," concluded Klincewicz.
As he noted Martins Prieditis from the European Commission, the introduction of the DFA aims to "establish the balance of power between technology platforms and users" - namely to guarantee that digital giants do not abuse their position at the expense of citizens.
This means 1 thing for consumers: greater protection and control. No more hidden costs, dubious consents and interfaces designed to mislead. Instead, greater transparency, real consent to data processing and access to information in an understandable form.
Although the details of the regulations are inactive the subject of consultations, the event in Warsaw during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU showed that Poland does not intend to be a passive recipient of EU law. The presence of representatives of the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the broad debate on the limits of regulation (e.g. in the context of flexible prices in tourism services) show that national experts are actively active in shaping Europe's digital future.
One thing is certain – digital honesty is no longer a dream. This is simply a real request that is now gaining the legal framework. And its importance to all net user in the EU – huge.
Jolanta Chudak
