On July 24, 2025, the European Parliament (EP) published a study entitled Artificial Intelligence and Civil Liability – A European Perspective. The study considers some of the EU’s existing and proposed liability frameworks, notably the revised Product Liability Directive (PLDr) and the AI Liability Directive (AILD), which was proposed by the European Commission only to be later withdrawn. The study concludes that neither instrument sufficiently addresses the full scope of product liability risks and defects uniquely posed by high-risk AI systems, as that concept is defined by the EU AI Act. Therefore, it calls for the creation of a dedicated strict liability framework, specifically designed to tackle the particular liability risks that these systems are said to give rise to. While it is too early to predict whether other key European stakeholders will support such a framework and bring it to fruition, this development is an important one to monitor closely for those creating or working with high-risk AI systems.Continue Reading European Parliament Study Recommends Strict Liability Regime for High-Risk AI Systems
Digital Fairness Act Series — Topic 4: Digital Subscriptions
Digital contracts and subscriptions have significantly increased, with the subscription economy tripling since 2017, according to the European Commission’s Digital Fairness Act Fitness Check. However, the Fitness Check points out that the number of issues with digital subscriptions, such as difficult cancellations, automatic renewals without reminders, and unclear subscription terms, have also increased. The Commission proposes to tackle these issues in its proposed Digital Fairness Act (“DFA”), which recently entered its consultation phase (see our blog post here).
This post briefly highlights certain issues with digital subscriptions identified in the Fitness Check, outlines how these issues are currently regulated in the EU, and considers the Fitness Check’s proposals to address these issues. It is the fourth post in our series on the upcoming DFA – previous posts covered influencer marketing, AI chatbots in consumer interactions, and personalised advertising and pricing.Continue Reading Digital Fairness Act Series — Topic 4: Digital Subscriptions
European Parliament Committee Recommends Commission to Propose EU Directive on Algorithmic Management
On June 26, 2025, the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs published a draft report (“Draft Report”) recommending that the Commission initiate the legislative process for an EU Directive on algorithmic management in the workplace. The Draft Report defines algorithmic management as the use of automated systems—including those involving artificial intelligence—to monitor, assess, or make decisions affecting workers and solo self-employed persons.
This Draft Report follows a Commission study published in March 2025 (“Commission Study”), which found that while existing EU legislation, such as the GDPR, addresses some risks to workers from algorithmic management, others remain. The Commission Study also recognizes that the AI Act does not establish specific rights for workers in the context of AI use, which is noted as a concern.
The Draft Report encloses the proposed text for a new Directive on algorithmic management in the workplace (“Proposed Directive”). The Draft Report has not yet been endorsed by the European Parliament.Continue Reading European Parliament Committee Recommends Commission to Propose EU Directive on Algorithmic Management
European Commission Makes New Announcements on the Protection of Minors Under the Digital Services Act
On 14 July 2025, the European Commission published its final guidelines on the protection of minors under the Digital Services Act (“DSA”) (the “Guidelines”). The Guidelines are intended to provide guidance to providers of online platforms that are “accessible to minors” on meeting their obligations to “put in place appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety, and security of minors, on their service” (DSA, Art. 28(1)). Continue Reading European Commission Makes New Announcements on the Protection of Minors Under the Digital Services Act
Help Shape the New EU Consumer Protection Law: Join the Public Consultation on the Digital Fairness Act
On July 17, 2025, the European Commission launched a “call for evidence” and public consultation on the Digital Fairness Act (“DFA”), an anticipated new consumer protection law. The Commission seeks feedback on existing EU consumer protection laws and on proposals for how the DFA could address the following two problems with the existing laws, as identified through a “Fitness Check” of EU consumer law published in October 2024:
- Lack of digital fairness for consumers. This particularly affects vulnerable groups such as minors, offering them suboptimal choices that can lead to financial harm, loss of time, negative health impacts, and indirect effects like environmental costs.
- Unclear rules for businesses and market fragmentation. This results in increased business costs, hampers cross-border trade, leads to missed opportunities, and causes unfair competition, particularly from non-EU traders.
The Commission has also emphasized its objective to enhance the EU’s competitiveness, aiming for simplification of consumer protection rules and the removal of barriers within the EU Market. This includes efforts to achieve greater legal certainty regarding unfair commercial practices. The goal is to address enforcement deficiencies, regulatory gaps, and market fragmentation, as some Member States have regulated or are considering new regulation in these areas.Continue Reading Help Shape the New EU Consumer Protection Law: Join the Public Consultation on the Digital Fairness Act
When is a Safety Component of Radio Equipment a High-Risk AI System Under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act?
There is an ongoing debate in Brussels about the circumstances under which AI-based safety components integrated into radio equipment are subject to the requirements for high-risk AI systems of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act 2024/1689 (the “AI Act”). The debate is particularly relevant because, if AI-based safety components are considered high-risk under the AI Act, they will be subject to a comprehensive set of regulatory requirements under the AI Act as of August 2, 2027. These requirements include risk management, data quality measures, transparency towards users, human oversight, as well as obligations relating to accuracy, robustness, and cybersecurity.
The discussion affects devices like smartphones with AI-driven emergency call features, smart home safety systems, smart home appliances and drones using AI for obstacle avoidance and emergency landing. In effect, many, if not all, of the AI-based safety components of internet-connected radio equipment could be subject to the AI Act’s requirements for high-risk AI systems.
Below we briefly outline the framework of the current debate.Continue Reading When is a Safety Component of Radio Equipment a High-Risk AI System Under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act?
Overview of Key CJEU Rulings on EU Consumer Protection Law of June 2025
In June 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered important rulings clarifying the application of the EU Unfair Contract Terms Directive (UCTD), which protects consumers from unfair standard contract terms that have not been individually negotiated. The UCTD ensures such terms are transparent, clear, and balanced; unfair terms are not binding on consumers and may expose businesses to enforcement actions.
This blog post highlights four significant cases decided in June 2025. These cases involve preliminary references from national courts to the CJEU to clarify whether national laws are aligned with EU law.Continue Reading Overview of Key CJEU Rulings on EU Consumer Protection Law of June 2025
Council and Parliament Agree on Key Reforms to the EU ADR Framework
On June 26, 2025, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement on modernizing the EU’s framework for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in consumer matters.
The current ADR framework—established in Directive 2013/11/EU (ADR Directive)—has not been amended since its adoption in 2013. As noted in our previous blog, the European Commission recognized the need to modernize the system and, on October 17, 2023, proposed a legislative package to (i) amend the ADR Directive, and (ii) repeal the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Regulation, which created the European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) Platform, on the basis that this platform was infrequently used. The ODR repeal regulation was formally adopted on November 19, 2024 and the ODR Platform will be discontinued on July 20, 2025. Since then, the focus has shifted to finalizing a reformed ADR framework.Continue Reading Council and Parliament Agree on Key Reforms to the EU ADR Framework
Digital Fairness Act Series — Topic 3: Personalized Advertising and Pricing
Personalized advertising and pricing are increasingly common online practices, and prompt discussions about fairness and consumer rights in the EU. This post examines how these practices are regulated under EU consumer protection law, and what we anticipate from the forthcoming Digital Fairness Act (DFA). We also consider how data protection rules—such as the GDPR—interact with consumer protection laws.
This is the third post in our series on the DFA—a draft EU law currently being prepared by the European Commission and expected to be published in mid-2026. Previous posts covered influencer marketing and AI chatbots in consumer interactions.Continue Reading Digital Fairness Act Series — Topic 3: Personalized Advertising and Pricing
Data Protection Meets Consumer Protection: The Crucial Role of Clear Terms in Service Contracts
On June 10, 2025, the Finnish Data Protection Ombudsman published a decision (in FI) where it found that the processing of personal data for enforcing parking violations was unlawful because the enforcement mechanism was not described in the parking rental agreement. This recent decision is a striking example of how data protection and consumer protection law are increasingly intertwined. The case demonstrates that the way in which customer services—and any related enforcement mechanisms for non-performance—are described in contracts is not just a matter of consumer transparency, but a legal requirement for the lawful processing of personal data under Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR (“processing [that] is necessary for the performance of a contract”).Continue Reading Data Protection Meets Consumer Protection: The Crucial Role of Clear Terms in Service Contracts