The European Commission presented its Digital Fairness Act on Nov. 11, a proposal that would ban fake low-stock claims and make subscriptions easier to cancel.
If you run a high-ticket dropshipping store that ships to the EU, buys ads aimed at EU shoppers, or might sell to a buyer who does, this is the rulebook your product pages and checkout will be measured against. According to the Irish Examiner, fines can reach 6% of annual global turnover. Readers of Ecommerce Paradise who sell only inside the US face no direct change today, but the FTC and New Jersey have both gone after pricing tricks this year, so the fixes are cheap insurance.
One sourcing note. I could not pull the Commission’s published text, so the ten-item list below comes from a leaked draft that Euronews reported on Nov. 9. The Irish Examiner’s Nov. 11 report on the presentation matches it on the points that matter to store owners.
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Digital Fairness Act Draft Bans Fake Low-Stock Claims
Michael McGrath, the European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, presented the Digital Fairness Act on Wednesday, Nov. 11, according to the Irish Examiner. The proposal bans manipulative dark patterns, with fake claims that a product is almost sold out as the lead example. It also makes unwanted subscriptions easier to cancel, adds pricing transparency rules, and requires influencers to disclose advertising clearly.
The Commission backs the proposal with two figures, per the Irish Examiner. More than 80% of popular e-commerce websites and mobile apps use manipulative marketing tactics, and unfair online commercial practices cost EU consumers an estimated 10.3 billion euros a year. Companies that unfairly push consumers to spend more or target children could face fines of up to 6% of annual global turnover.
The most detailed list comes from the leaked draft. Euronews reported on Nov. 9, and updated the story on Nov. 11, that the draft blacklists ten practices. Making cancellation disproportionately harder than sign-up is on the list, along with burying prices or auto-renewal terms and falsely suggesting there is no alternative. So are false or unqualified claims about product availability or popularity, scarcity warnings repeated throughout checkout, and pre-selected options that add extra products or quantities. The rest cover framing a refusal as the wrong choice, repeatedly pressing consumers to change a choice already made, confusing double negatives, and fake notifications implying someone has contacted the user.
Euronews also reported that the draft bans drip pricing, meaning unavoidable fees revealed only at checkout, and certain “was/now” discounts. It requires a “terminate the contract here” button and bars free trials from converting into paid subscriptions without active consent. Dark patterns would be deemed unfair in all circumstances, so authorities would not need to prove harm case by case.
Per Euronews, the draft would replace the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive with a regulation that applies directly in all 27 member states, 12 months after it enters into force. Euronews also reported that misleading claims by dropshippers are specifically targeted. A Commission spokesperson told the outlet the body “does not comment on leaks.”
On pricing, PYMNTS, citing Reuters, reported that businesses using dynamic pricing would have to disclose how many products or tickets remain at an advertised price. The draft would also prohibit personalized ads aimed at children and vulnerable consumers.
Why the EU Wants a Regulation, Not Another Directive
The Digital Fairness Act came out of a long consultation, and the timing held. Freshfields wrote in November 2025 that the public consultation had closed and the proposal was expected in Q4 2026. The firm’s guide for e-commerce players named countdown timers, drip pricing, pre-ticked consent boxes and misleading limited-stock claims as likely targets. Three of those four appear in the leaked draft. Countdown timers do not, according to Euronews.
The legal form is the real change. A directive has to be turned into national law country by country. A regulation applies as written, and per Euronews this one would also make dark patterns unfair in every case.
The timeline is slow. The Irish Examiner reported that the act still has to be agreed with EU countries and the European Parliament “in the coming months.” Pinsent Masons wrote in April that it did not expect the rules to apply until 2028 at the earliest. The Commission has stressed the act is not meant to add “unnecessary regulatory burdens,” per the same Pinsent Masons analysis.
This lands in a busy stretch for sellers who reach European shoppers. I covered the EU credit checks reaching Klarna and PayPal pay-later products on Nov. 20. I also covered the EU Council’s draft on cookie consent. Each of those touches a different part of your store, and this one touches the product page and checkout design.
Not everyone wants this law. Victor Timon, chief executive of Digital Business Ireland, said the act “should not place disproportionate costs or burdens on legitimate businesses,” according to the Irish Examiner. Germany’s government argued in an Oct. 14 non-paper, reported by Agence Europe and cited by Euronews, that existing directives should be amended instead and that the case for a regulation “has not yet been sufficiently demonstrated.”
Consumer advocates say the draft does too little in places. Peter Norwood, a senior research and advocacy officer at Finance Watch, said the manipulative-practice measures offer too little protection for financial consumers such as users of online investment services, per PYMNTS. McGrath’s own line, in the Irish Examiner’s account, was: “We are not making it harder to do business, we are making it harder to do business unfairly.”
What the Fake Low-Stock Ban Does to a High-Ticket Store
My read is that the fake low-stock ban lands hardest on dropshippers. Euronews flagged dropshippers specifically, and the reason is plain. Your inventory sits in a supplier’s warehouse, so a badge that says “Only 2 left” is true only if a live supplier feed says so.
Here is the hypothetical math. Take a store doing $2 million a year with a “Selling fast” badge on every product page and no inventory feed behind it. A 6% ceiling on that turnover is $120,000. That is a cap, not a forecast, and I would not plan around a fine that size. I would plan around the rework: pulling badges, rebuilding checkout, and rewriting product pages across hundreds of SKUs.
High-ticket stores also have less to lose by dropping the tricks. A buyer spending $2,400 on an outdoor kitchen island researches for days, calls your phone, and compares you against two other dealers. Fake urgency does little for that buyer and costs you trust. I have always taught that trust closes high-ticket sales, and the shopper who feels pushed is the one who files a dispute later. My guide to chargeback prevention for high-ticket stores covers that side.
The add-on and cancellation rules matter more than they look. If you sell extended warranties, installation packages or maintenance plans, a pre-selected box that adds them is out under the draft. A free trial cannot roll into a paid plan without active consent, per Euronews. A box ticked by default is the easiest thing in your store to fix, and the easiest thing for anyone to screenshot.
Your product feed carries the same promises. It already tells Google your price and availability, so keep it honest before you worry about Brussels. My walkthrough on turning Google Shopping clicks into sales for high-ticket products shows where price and stock accuracy affect conversion.
Three scenarios decide how much of this you owe today. If you ship only inside the US, you have no exposure under this proposal, and the reason to act is the direction of travel. I covered the FTC’s Stream Auto order on advertised prices. I also covered the FTC orders asking Walmart and Target to explain personalized pricing.
New Jersey went further in August with its ban on surveillance pricing. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic keep asking the same question: is the price real, and is the urgency real? A store that can answer yes to both is covered in every scenario.
If you ship to the EU or aim ads at EU shoppers, the open question is scope. None of the reports I read says whether the regulation covers non-EU traders directly. Pinsent Masons wrote that businesses outside the EU must comply with applicable EU and national law when they target EU consumers. I’d treat my store as covered and confirm with EU counsel. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
If you plan to sell your store, a clean checkout is part of what a buyer’s lawyer reads. I sold a multi-store portfolio in 2022, and I would rather hand over a store with nothing to explain. If you would rather start with a store that is clean from day one, that is what my turnkey done-for-you store build is for.
One caution on all of this. The text can still change before it passes, and the German government has already argued against the regulation form. Fix what is plainly deceptive now, and wait for the final wording before you rebuild anything that sits in a gray area.
Cleaning up your pages is the easy part, so want my team to scale the store you already have? See the scaling service →
Five Store Fixes to Make Before the Digital Fairness Act
Here are five fixes, in the order I’d do them. Each takes an afternoon or less on Shopify.
- Audit every urgency element. List each low-stock badge, “selling fast” label, visitor counter and timer in your Shopify theme and your apps. Keep a stock count only if a supplier feed drives it. Delete the rest, including any timer that resets when the page reloads.
- Untick every default add-on. Warranties, installation, shipping protection and accessories should start unchecked at checkout. Euronews reported that pre-selected options that add products or quantities are on the draft’s banned list.
- Show the full price early. Put estimated freight, liftgate and delivery fees on the product page or in the cart, before the shopper enters card details. Euronews reported that the draft bans drip pricing, and freight is where most high-ticket stores reveal costs late. My guide to Shopify conversion rate optimization for high-ticket stores shows where those numbers fit without hurting conversion.
- Make cancelling as easy as buying. If you sell maintenance plans, filter subscriptions or paid trials, give customers a visible cancel link and send a renewal reminder before every charge. An email platform such as Omnisend can send that reminder automatically.
- Date and document your flow. Screenshot your product page, cart and checkout today and again after the changes, then check that your policy pages are current. A tool like Termly helps with consent and legal documents. My Termly setup guide for ecommerce stores walks through it.
If you serve EU shoppers separately, my walkthrough on setting up Geo Targetly to redirect international shoppers shows how to route them. If you want a second set of eyes on the whole flow, book a discovery call.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Digital Fairness Act law yet?
No. It is a proposal. The Irish Examiner reported it still has to be agreed with EU countries and the European Parliament, and Euronews reported the leaked draft would apply 12 months after it enters into force. Pinsent Masons wrote in April that it did not expect the rules to apply until 2028 at the earliest.
Does the act apply to a US store that sells to EU customers?
The reports I read do not say. Pinsent Masons notes that non-EU businesses must follow applicable EU and national law when they target EU consumers. Ask an EU consumer-law lawyer before you assume you are outside it, and see how Europe ended duty-free imports for another sign of where cross-border rules are heading.
How big are the fines?
Up to 6% of annual global turnover for companies that unfairly push consumers to spend more or target children, according to the Irish Examiner. That is a ceiling. Nothing in the reports says what typical penalties will look like.
Are countdown timers banned?
Euronews says the leaked list of ten practices does not name them. Freshfields flagged countdown timers as a likely target in November 2025, and the draft does bar scarcity warnings repeated throughout checkout. Wait for the final text, and cut any timer that is not tied to a real deadline.
Can I still show how many units are left?
The draft targets false or unqualified claims about availability. A count driven by a live supplier feed is the defensible version, but the final wording could change that. I’d confirm with counsel before relying on it.
What should I do first if I only sell in the US?
Run the five fixes above. The draft also requires influencers to disclose advertising clearly, so if you work with them, my guide to scaling a high-ticket store with affiliates and influencers is worth a re-read. If you are still choosing what to sell, my free high-ticket niches list is the place to start.
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Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.
