The Government of Spain has made a move ahead of the presentation, next Wednesday, of the so-called Digital Equity Law (DFA, for its acronym in English), with which the European Commission intends to put a stop to the “dark” designs of technology platforms. Moncloa, together with the governments of Denmark and Portugal, has submitted a document to the European Commission in which it defines this initiative as "an opportunity to advance in the protection of consumers, fair competition and trust in digital markets".
The text, which DEMÓCRATA has had access to, expressly calls for a new regulation for influencers, the design of digital markets and the protection of consumers. The three governments consider that the future regulations should ensure that users can easily distinguish the independent recommendations that appear in the algorithms of their social networks from those that respond to a commercial interest. All of this, they argue, must be accompanied by increased "transparency and accountability among the actors involved".
The proposal thus opens the door to establishing new obligations for content creators at the Community level, especially with regard to identifying promotional posts. The initiative promoted by Spain points directly to this sector by asking the Community Executive that the future legislation "address the emerging forms of commercial influence that blur the boundaries between personal recommendations". The scope of the measure would not be limited to social networks and would also be linked to entertainment and advertising, including "digital influence and that generated by Artificial Intelligence".
Influencers, under the spotlight of the new regulation
The inclusion of content creators in the document places this sector among the areas that Madrid, Copenhagen and Lisbon consider priorities for future Community intervention. The concern of the three governments lies in the growing difficulty of distinguishing between spontaneous recommendation and commercial communication, especially in digital environments in which advertising and personal content coexist in the same spaces.
The intention is that the new regulation will make it possible to strengthen the identification of the commercial interests that lie behind certain recommendations and content. In this regard, the document calls for the rules to take into account the new forms of influence that have emerged with the evolution of platforms and that do not always fit within traditional advertising mechanisms.
The explicit reference to Artificial Intelligence expands even further the scope of the initiative. Governments consider that commercial influence is no longer limited to conventional advertising formats, but extends to content and recommendations whose nature may be less apparent to consumers. For this reason, they call for future legislation to also include these new forms of promotion.
Brussels wants to intervene on the design of the platforms
After a first regulatory wave focused on setting limits for the large technology companies and after presenting the legislation with which a minimum age will be set to access social networks, the Executive led by Ursula von der Leyen wants to act directly on the patterns that are hidden in the design of the applications.
Moncloa argues that, while digital innovation offers "significant" benefits, it also allows companies to configure digital environments capable of influencing consumer behavior. The Government thus focuses on a dimension that goes beyond the information users receive and that directly affects the way platforms present their services and shape the decisions of those who use them.
"The consumer's autonomy does not depend solely on access to information, but also on how digital environments are designed and how options are presented," the document sent to Brussels states. This premise constitutes one of the central arguments of the three governments in calling for regulatory intervention that does not limit itself to ensuring transparency, but also examines the mechanisms that shape users' decisions.
The commissioner responsible for Consumer Protection, Michael McGrath, will reveal the details of the proposal next Wednesday. The initiative was among the assignments in his mission letter when he took office and also constitutes one of the priorities of the Socialist group in the European Parliament during the current legislative term.
Initially it was planned that the so-called 'Kids Act', focused on protecting minors in the digital environment, would be part of this same legislative package. However, the Community Executive ultimately chose to separate both initiatives into two blocks. The decision responds to the intention of addressing in a differentiated manner the protection of minors and that of all consumers who take part in digital markets.
Stopping addictive designs and compulsive spending
Madrid, Copenhagen and Lisbon also demand that future regulations act on the participation mechanisms commonly associated with the addictive design of platforms. The three governments warn that these tools are intended, mainly, to maximize the time users spend in digital services.
The document also points out that certain design patterns can end up encouraging "excessive or compulsive spending". The concern therefore is not limited to the time of exposure to the applications, but also extends to the consequences that certain mechanisms may have on consumers' economic decisions.
The expectations of the three governments are that the Community proposal will address personalized recommendations and the time-use adaptation mechanisms, while "ensuring a meaningful choice and control by the consumer." It is a matter of intervening on elements that, although they form part of the usual browsing experience, can condition users' ability to make decisions.
The claim thus places platform design at the center of the regulatory debate. Against an approach focused exclusively on the information that companies must provide, the three countries argue that it is also necessary to examine how digital environments are constructed and what incentives their functionalities incorporate.
Avoiding regulatory loopholes and duplications
Sources familiar with the processing of this regulation are explaining that the future Digital Equity Law will help "close regulatory loopholes and blind spots". To do so, the document submitted by Spain, Denmark and Portugal opens the door to "improving the clarity and enforceability of consumer protection rules". The three governments consider that the new legislation should serve to strengthen the existing framework without creating regulatory overlaps. The aim would be to avoid duplications between the various rules that already regulate the activity of platforms and, at the same time, prevent the emergence of new commercial practices from leaving gaps without sufficiently clear regulatory coverage.
This issue is especially relevant in an environment in which the obligations of large technology companies are distributed across different EU legislative instruments. The future DFA will have to determine how the new requirements fit within that framework and which aspects need additional intervention to ensure effective protection for consumers. In this context, Spain, Denmark and Portugal are calling on Brussels for a proposal that combines protection for users with legal certainty for economic operators. The intention is that the new obligations can be applied effectively without imposing unnecessary burdens or reproducing requirements that are already contemplated in other provisions.
"We call on the European Commission to present an ambitious and effective DFA that protects consumer autonomy, guarantees fair digital markets and generates the consumer trust that underpins Europe's competitiveness," concludes the document.