Suche
Mein Konto
Consumer protection: Large internet companies ignore European law
According to a report by www.sueddeutsche.de, large Internet companies from the USA and China are not complying with the new legal obligations even a hundred days after the European Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force. A study by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (VZBV) shows that companies such as Amazon, Booking.com, Google Shopping and YouTube continue to use illegal design tricks (“dark patterns”) to steer consumers in a certain direction. Since August 2023, providers of very large online platforms have been prohibited from exploiting human behavior or perception patterns through design tricks. Nevertheless, companies continue to ignore the applicable laws. Also with regard to the transparency of...
Consumer protection: Large internet companies ignore European law
According to a report by www.sueddeutsche.de, large Internet companies from the USA and China are not complying with the new legal obligations even a hundred days after the European Digital Services Act (DSA) came into force. A study by the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations (VZBV) shows that companies such as Amazon, Booking.com, Google Shopping and YouTube continue to use illegal design tricks (“dark patterns”) to steer consumers in a certain direction.
Since August 2023, providers of very large online platforms have been prohibited from exploiting human behavior or perception patterns through design tricks. Nevertheless, companies continue to ignore the applicable laws. There were also serious deficiencies with regard to the transparency of advertising criteria. The consumer advocates criticized the fact that large online platforms do not provide sufficient information about the criteria according to which advertisements are displayed. In addition, it was criticized that none of the providers examined have so far complied with this obligation.
These breaches have the potential to have a significant impact on the market and consumers. On the one hand, consumers could be influenced and misled in their purchasing behavior by the illegal design tricks. This can lead to a distortion of competition and a disadvantage to other providers. In addition, the lack of transparency regarding advertising criteria could affect consumer trust in the affected platforms.
It remains to be seen whether and how the responsible authorities will react to these violations and what measures will be taken to enforce compliance with the legal requirements. However, it is clear that failure to comply with the new legal obligations could have negative consequences for the companies concerned.
Compliance with legal requirements is crucial to ensure fair competition and consumer protection. The affected companies should take measures as quickly as possible to comply with legal requirements and regain consumer trust.
Source: www.sueddeutsche.de
Read the source article at www.sueddeutsche.de