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EU Asks Platforms to Make Saying No Less Like an Escape Room
· New York time
The European Commission has proposed a Digital Fairness Act aimed at online practices involving gaming, social media and shopping. The proposal addresses areas including loot boxes, influencers and features that can encourage people to spend more time or money online. The measure is a proposal, not an enacted U.S. rule. Its potential importance extends beyond Europe because many of the platforms involved operate across borders and serve American users as well as European customers. Companies facing rules in a large market may have to consider how they design services there. The proposal brings several different online experiences under a broad consumer-fairness policy. A game, a social feed and a store do not work in identical ways, but each can be designed to keep people engaged or encourage spending. The commission wants to address practices that exploit those incentives. For a user, the practical question is often how easy it is to understand and exercise a choice. Platforms have invested considerable ingenuity in making the route toward another purchase or another minute of attention feel effortless. Europe is asking whether that same ingenuity might be applied to the other exits. The internet's checkout maze may have to install a sign that does not point only toward the cash register.
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