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On September 16th 2026, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, addressed the European Parliament in her State of the European Union discourse (SOTEU). This speech defines the main priorities of work and areas of discussion for the EU institutions over the coming year.
Among the proposals highlighted during the address, she outlined the key points that will shape the digital market, more directly impacting our Digital Marketing daily work, as well as what we are to expect regarding the impact of AI policies in the upcoming months.
A major highlight is how the EU is stretching its alliances to both sides of the world:
On one side, Canada will become the EU’s first “associated member”, working together to strengthen industry standards and AI developments.
On the other hand, Australia’s Social Media restrictions and security measures serve as a blueprint for the EU’s own framework on safety for children and minors.
There is no denying that the EU is building a stronger and safer digital environment, placing a clear emphasis on cross-border growth and shared insights with Australia and Canada. By leveraging these international perspectives, developers and marketers in the EU can align around new multi-market strategies following the evolving privacy and consumer protection standards of the European Union.
New AI regulations at EU level
The EU AI Act is a crucial framework shaping the future of global economies, education, and healthcare systems. Collaborative efforts with international partners, like Canada and the UK, aim to build joint models focused on security, verification, and early warning systems.
In the Digital Marketing scene, the EU AI Act intersects directly with how app and game developers will present their productcontent across store listings and ads. All those AI-driven features that the products have will face major scrutiny regarding how they are portrayed and which age groups can access the specific information about those as well as their use.
Additionally, automated personalization of algorithms in app stores will need updating to comply with EU legislation. AI transparency will impact the personalization of the advertising industry within mobile apps and the store metadata, penalizing deceptive practices as a new level of accuracy will need to be escalated, and any misleading content will be punished, particularly on undeclared AI usage.
By engaging directly with the AI industry landscape, the EU aims to lead the digital AI frontier. The President of the European Commission emphasized that the EU AI Act establishes essential guardrails to ensure the safe and secure development of AI models, preserving a secure and safe development, especially after the latest industry news and warnings from Big Tech regarding the dangers and risks of rapid AI expansion worldwide.
Strengthening the EU AI Development Industry:
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, emphasized the need of the EU to boost its computing capacities to stay in the race vs other countries and regions. The EU will work to develop clean and secure ways to enhance AI development, as well as unlocking the use of both public and private funds to invest in European AI companies and developers.
In relation to the initiatives to strengthen AI development in the EU, the Commission has announced an upscale in the creation of networks of AI factories, dedicated to bring together an ecosystem of supercomputing power, data storage, security, competitivity and reinforcement of talent gathering for the EU digital networks to accelerate European AI innovation and ensuring homegrown technological sovereignty.
AI should empower employers and not replace them. The EU will champion emerging technologies in sectors like Health, Transport, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Defense in Space. This can take the shape of examples such as supporting the Health Care system and giving new tools to fight climate change.
Changes to the Digital Market in Q4 2026
In Autumn 2026 the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) – which currently stays as a legislative proposal – is expected to be officialized. As a core component of the DFA, the EU´s Consumer Agenda will support building a more comprehensible EU consumer law, closing gaps on commercial practices for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions.
The proposal will take shape as a standalone regulation targeting five key areas of intervention within the EU Single Market:
End with Dark Patterns and Manipulative Interfaces: In support of the Digital Services Act, the Digital Fairness Act will extend prohibition of dark patterns on online platforms, including e-commerces, apps, streaming services and connected devices Put into action, this means to end with pre-checked opt-in boxes, penalize design tricks (ie. “reject” button being smaller than the “accept”), or fake scarcity counters (ie. “only one item left”).
How will apps and games UX and onboarding be impacted?
Apps and Games will need to update their product UX & their onboarding processes, ensuring there are no deceptive “reject” buttons or pre-checked opt-ins. This will require that the product teams audit their app onboarding flows, consentment screens, and paywalls to ensure complete transparency.
Addictive Design & Attention Mechanics: This point from the DFA is highly sensitive, as it is reinforced through the EU Kids Act. Digital Platforms must apply special protections for minors, and ban engagement hooks targeted for children. The DFA protects, for users of all ages, a built-in circuit breaker against interface features engineered to exploit vulnerabilities in order to maximize screen time or spending. Same will apply to infinite scrolling, autoplay, “daily streaks” and gambling-like reward loops (ie. loot boxes in video games). All of these will be finalized in the EU.
Personalization and Dynamic Pricing: The EU will apply restrictions on dark personalization for pricing evolution, targeting recommendations based on consumer activity and detected vulnerabilities, and hidden fees, as well as showing inflated reference discounts. In parallel with these developments, already in August 2026, Google has changed their search results in the EU.
Subscription and Cancellation Loopholes: Auto-renewal and free-trial rules will have stricter requirements for pre-notification before a free-trial ends and converts into a paid subscription. On a similar note, contracts to cancel should be as easy as it is to subscribe. The law aims for 1-click or streamlined cancellation procedure, instead of users falling into dark patterns and cancellation traps.
How must apps and games update their free-trial and subscription flows?
Subscription-based apps, as well as games that rely on auto-renewal passes, must adapt their revenue systems and product designs to comply with the end of deceptive subscription traps and automatic renewal loopholes. These will need to meet pre-notification rules before a free trial converts into a recurring payment, as well as offer frictionless cancellation processes for subscriptions and/or free trials.
Misleading Influencer Marketing: Companies will have more difficulty promoting products, as the EU will introduce direct legal liability for influencer marketing, with clearer disclosure mandates for brands, agencies, and influencers on commercial posts. In accordance with these rules, and also covered through the DSA and the EU Kids Act, the DFA will reinforce protections to restrict advertising of harmful or age-inappropriate products, directly to minors.
Adapt or perish in the new EU Digital Era
The EU aims to foster safer and responsible AI to improve our society, quality of life, and economic productivity. To achieve this, all companies, startups, as well as private and public companies must align toward a common goal: building an independent Europe equipped to address digital risks, supporting a competitive and developing strong industry.
While AI presents plenty of opportunities, companies must prioritize the safety of their products, as well as of the audiences they reach, through marketing practices that remain transparent, accurate and fully compliant with the law and emerging standards.
