On November 11, 2026, the European Commission is due to present its Digital Fairness Act (DFA). Euronews and Global Dating Insights reported details from a leaked draft on November 9–10, and the Commission told Euronews it "does not comment on leaks," so the final text may differ. The draft would replace the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive with a regulation that applies directly in all 27 member states, enforced with fines of up to 6% of global annual turnover.

Why It Matters

Most AI-companion regulation in the US targets **minors and content**: New York's chatbot law, California's SB 243 and Apple's new 18+ rating. The EU draft targets **design for everyone, including adults**. If Article 17 survives, any companion app sold in Europe, from Replika-style friends to NSFW "girlfriend" bots, would need a user-facing switch that turns off the retention mechanics many of these businesses rely on: unprompted check-ins, "I missed you" notifications, streaks. For dating apps and creator platforms, one-click cancellation and active consent for trial conversions go after the subscription mechanics behind much of the sector's churn management and revenue. The 6% penalty puts this at GDPR level. Companion and dating apps with EU users should expect product changes in 2027–28 even if the final text is softened. See also: [EU 'Kids Act' and under-15 chatbot ban](/stories/eu-kids-act-under15-chatbot-ban) · [New York's chatbot minors law](/stories/ny-chatbot-minors-safety-law) · [Apple's 18+ floor for dating and companion apps](/stories/apple-dating-companion-apps-18-plus)

The provision most relevant to this industry is aimed at AI companions. Euronews reports that all users would gain the right to switch off autoplay, notifications unrelated to their own activity, streak-style rewards, and "chatbot features that simulate relationships to keep people engaged." Global Dating Insights places this in Article 17 of the draft, which would require services to let users disable engagement features "that simulate personal relationships to encourage continued interaction," including persistent prompts to keep talking to an automated system. The DFA is consumer-protection law, not content law. It does not ban romantic or erotic AI. It treats a companion's emotional hooks as a dark pattern that users must be able to turn off.

Subscription businesses, which include most dating apps, companion apps and adult-content platforms, would face new checkout and cancellation rules. According to Euronews, the draft includes a mandatory "terminate the contract here" button. Free trials could not roll into paid plans unless the consumer actively agrees. Customers would get reminders before automatic renewals (GDI says for contracts of six months or longer) and a right to reach a human in customer service. The draft also sets out a blacklist of ten dark patterns deemed unfair in all circumstances, which the Commission could expand without going back to lawmakers. Other provisions ban drip pricing, ban profiling-based advertising to minors for all traders, ban paid loot boxes for children, and add the first EU rules for AI shopping agents. The Commission's impact assessment estimates €88.4 billion in avoided consumer losses from 2025 to 2035, against about €678 million a year in business compliance costs.

The proposal must still pass the European Parliament and member states, and it would apply 12 months after entry into force. Germany is already pushing back. In an October 14 non-paper reported by Agence Europe, Berlin argued that existing directives should be amended rather than replaced with a new horizontal law. Consumer Commissioner Michael McGrath is leading the file.

Sources

Update — 2026-11-11

Initial entry — story first created.