Abstract:
The European Commission announced a draft of the "Digital Fairness Bill", which plans to strengthen the supervision of game loot boxes, virtual currencies and payment mechanisms for minors. The bill is still in the proposal stage, and the relevant provisions have not yet taken effect. They may still be discussed and revised in the future.
If the draft becomes law, all companies doing business in the EU will be subject to it, and it will not be limited to companies registered in EU member states. Governments of various countries can then impose fines in accordance with relevant regulations, and consumers who believe that their rights and interests have been harmed can also seek financial compensation. The draft also targets omissions, distortions and "dark patterns" in advertising and public relations communications, and proposes to ban personalized advertising and pricing for children.
Game-related terms require companies that sell virtual currencies to indicate their real monetary value and the real prices when virtual currencies are used to purchase items. In principle, the paid virtual currency function for minors should be turned off by default and can only be turned on with the permission of a parent or guardian.
For paid random reward systems such as loot boxes, companies need to publish the types of items that may be obtained and the corresponding probabilities, disable the feature by default for minors, and provide all users with an easy-to-find option to turn it off. The draft also proposes to ban pay-to-advance and pay-to-win mechanisms for children.
Automatic playback, uninterrupted consumption, timed rewards, loss penalties, irrelevant notifications, and designs that may induce overuse by simulating interpersonal relationships and urging users are also within the scope of the proposed restrictions. Games such as "Overwatch", "DOTA2" and "GTAOL" have been used to illustrate the possible impact of these provisions, but the relevant regulations have not yet been officially implemented.
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