Wilson Sonsini | EU Unveils Next Five-Year Consumer Protection Strategy

Consumer protection has become a key policy focus in the EU, as policymakers modernize competition and consumer laws to reflect the realities of the digital economy. The EU has implemented landmark regulations designed to reshape the obligations of online platforms, focusing on promoting fair competition and enhancing user protections in digital markets. Key among these are the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). See Wilson Sonsini’s previous factsheets for more information on the DMA and DSA.

In this context, on November 19, 2025, the European Commission (EC) adopted its 2030 Consumer Agenda (Agenda), outlining the EU’s strategic priorities for consumer protection in the digital economy over the next five years (strengthening consumer protection rules and the related enforcement framework, taking action against unjustified cross-border restrictions, and fostering sustainable consumption). The Agenda outlines several initiatives to achieve these, including the proposal for a Digital Fairness Act (DFA) to combat “unfair commercial practices,”¹ such as dark patterns, addictive design features, or exploitative personalization.

Prioritized Areas

The Agenda covers four key areas:

• Protecting Consumers Online.
  • Introduction of a DFA to combat unfair commercial practices, such as dark patterns (deceptive online choice architectures), addictive design features (such as “gamification”), or exploitative personalization, while ensuring a level playing field in the digital environment (legislative proposal expected Q4 2026). It will focus on safeguarding minors online, limiting their exposure to harmful practices and features in digital products.
  • Promotion of the fair and transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI) in consumer markets through the enforcement of the AI Act² and related consumer protection and product safety legislation (e.g., Unfair Commercial Practices Directive and the General Product Safety Regulation).
  • Strengthening protections against online fraud, including prevention measures and support for victims.
• Strengthening Enforcement.
  • The EC plans a revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation to strengthen enforcement, safeguard consumers from noncompliant businesses, and ensure a level playing field for businesses (legislative proposal also expected Q4 2026). This includes assessing the potential need to centralize EU enforcement powers in specific cases (which remain to be specified by the EC) and enhancing coordination among national authorities.
  • The EC also aims to strengthen the implementation of the Representative Actions Directive (the EU framework enabling collective consumer actions through qualified entities to seek injunctive and/or redress measures) by further supporting consumer organizations, members of the judiciary, and national authorities in managing representative actions.
  • The EC plans to maximize the use of AI in enforcement and market surveillance, for example, through the digital investigations eLab and the digital toolbox for product safety market surveillance (by 2027).
• Removing Cross-Border Barriers to Trade for EU Consumers. The Agenda presents an action plan to remove cross-border trade barriers for EU consumers and create new opportunities for businesses, particularly in the fields of financial services, mobility, and transport.
  • A key initiative is a review of the Geo-Blocking Regulation to evaluate its effectiveness in preventing discrimination based on nationality, residence, or establishment, for instance with respect to roaming or using online travel platforms (expected Q2 2026).
  • The EC will also develop tools to address unjustified territorial supply constraints beyond the reach of EU competition law, such as unilateral practices of large manufacturers (expected Q4 2026).
• Fostering Sustainable Consumption.
  • To reduce the detrimental environmental impact of e-commerce, the EC will explore a “Recommendation on fostering “green by design” features in e-commerce” (e.g., greener delivery options), and encourage digital tools such as interactive eco-labels to help consumers make informed sustainable choices (2027).
  • The EC will also support Member States in enforcing EU product and consumer protection laws to combat greenwashing, broaden access to sustainable products, and improve product durability and repairability.

Implementation

The Agenda articulates policy priorities at an EU level for upcoming legislative and regulatory initiatives, but does not dictate binding proposals. The EC will engage with a full spectrum of stakeholders (including businesses) to guide the implementation of the Agenda. For instance, the DFA, which was open for initial consultation until October 24, 2025, may undergo an additional consultation before a final text is adopted. Similarly, the reviews of the Geo-Blocking Regulation and the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation are likely to involve stakeholder consultations.

Key Takeaways

While the EU already has consumer protection rules, enforcement was fragmented along national lines and deemed not fit-for-purpose for the digital economy. The Agenda aims to streamline and improve the rules, prevent fragmentation, and strengthen enforcement.

The DFA proposal could entail the largest compliance burden and, per the EC, will target practices such as “dark patterns that can unfairly influence consumer decisions; addictive design features; problematic practices by influencers; unfair personalization that takes advantage of consumers’ vulnerabilities and problematic features in digital products such as social media, video games and e-commerce.” While some of these issues are already addressed by the DSA, the EC notes that these practices concern “all types of traders” and not just ecommerce websites and digital services that are based on content intermediation (and covered by the DSA).

Key areas of focus are likely to include ecommerce, social media, gaming, travel platforms, retail, and financial services.

The EU is not acting alone in strengthening consumer protection and enforcement. On November 18, 2025, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced its first enforcement actions related to companies’ pricing practices under the country’s new consumer protection regime. Read our previous Wilson Sonsini alerts for more information on the CMA’s first consumer protection actions and its new consumer protection powers.

These developments reflect a growing European, and increasingly global, regulatory focus on consumer rights, transparency, and fairness. Businesses should expect increased scrutiny across jurisdictions.

Our Recommendation

Companies operating in the EU should closely monitor development of the Agenda’s initiatives, as they are likely to result in heightened compliance expectations (and interplay with other legislation like the DMA/DSA), stricter public enforcement (potentially at the EU level), and increased private litigation (including through an enhanced collective action regime). Businesses, especially those active in the sectors above, should regularly assess their compliance policies, interface design and online choice architecture, pricing and subscription frameworks, and sustainability claims to prepare for the upcoming regulatory changes in the EU (and increased enforcement in the UK).

For more information, please contact Deirdre Carroll, Andrew Morrison, Tom Evans, or any member of the firm’s Antitrust and Competition or Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity practices.

Compliments of Wilson Sonsini – a member of the EACCNY