Digitalization is increasingly determining everyday life, but it also brings with it growing risks for consumers. At the 22nd Consumer Protection Ministers’ Conference in Potsdam on Friday, the federal and state department heads put together an extensive package of measures to better secure the digital space for consumers. The focus of the meeting was the increasing threat of fraudulent activity on online marketplaces and the difficulty in identifying fake shops.
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So far, the authorities have encountered significant bureaucratic and legal hurdles in combating fraudulent websites. The current instruments of the Digital Services Act (DSA) are not enough for the ministers. In practice, the complex cascade regulation anchored therein means that blocking procedures are lengthy and inefficient.
The conference therefore passed a motion from Brandenburg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Thuringia, which calls for a national action plan under the leadership of the federal government. The aim is to bundle the fragmented responsibilities of the police, judiciary, the digital service coordinator at the Federal Network Agency and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).
In addition, the federal government should examine whether an accelerated “notice and action” procedure can be established based on the Belgian model in order to quickly shut down fraudulent websites with a .de domain, even outside of lengthy criminal prosecution proceedings. Platform or domain operators must act immediately after being notified of illegal content or fraudulent activities to remove or block it.
The deletion of fake shop advertising in search engines and social networks should also be made easier in the future. Federal Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD) supported the thrust and referred to the revocation button that has just come into force and the EU Commission’s upcoming Digital Fairness Act to curb manipulative practices on the Internet.
Guidelines for AI agents and license downloads
Another topic at the conference was the introduction of artificial intelligence into online trading, for example through AI agents. As part of agentic commerce, such systems are supposed to act independently, book flights, change electricity providers or buy products. Since traditional consumer protection has so far focused primarily on the design of user interfaces, the conference calls for new, comprehensive European protection mechanisms. According to her, consumers must remain in control at all times.
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The ministers demand that AI systems must be designed in such a way that users can set relevant default settings such as price ranges, provider limits and cancellation options themselves. It must also be ensured that people can interrupt the process at any time and confirm the final purchase decision. AI agents are only allowed to act in the interests of consumers and not in the interests of providers. Politicians see potential for AI-supported advice offerings to reduce the burden on advice centers, provided high quality and safety standards are guaranteed.
In addition to digital trade, the ministers addressed consumer protection for software and media downloads. Since users often only acquire licenses that are tied to a time limit or to unclear framework conditions instead of traditional property rights, more transparency and consumer-friendly regulations from the federal government are necessary.
Official food monitoring should also become more digital. In order to ensure an identical level of protection in the growing online trade in everyday food as in stationary markets, the federal states are pushing for legally secure foundations for anonymous test orders by inspectors. Payment and shipping service providers should be legally obliged to enable covert official payments and the discreet redirection of sample shipments.
Price transparency when recharging electricity
The focus was also on electromobility. The department heads criticize the confusing tariff structures and the lack of price transparency at public e-charging stations, which prevent many people from switching to an e-car. You have an obligation to transparently state all costs, including blocking and start-up fees. The federal government’s planned mobility platform (Mobilithek) is to be quickly expanded into a central and binding price transparency point for ad hoc charging prices.
Last but not least, the conference spoke out in favor of better protection of minors and asked the federal government to quickly implement the announced ban on disposable e-cigarettes and to impose stricter restrictions on their advertising on social media.
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