Within the framework of the Jean Monnet Module DERECHO – Defense of European Rights and Excellence for Consumers HarmonizatiOn, a preparatory seminar was held regarding participation in the public consultation on the future “Digital Fairness Act” promoted by the European Commission.
During the session, students analyzed the phenomenon of dark patterns and addictive designs in digital services, reflecting on how these affect transparency, freedom of choice, and fairness in the Digital Single Market. The presentations and debates served to deepen the understanding of the legal and ethical scope of these practices, in a context marked by the upcoming European regulation on digital fairness. Students received specific information for their participation in the Public Consultation promoted by the European Commission regarding the Digital Fairness Act.
The seminar featured the intervention of one of the young researchers of the Jean Monnet DERECHO project: Ricardo Manuel Fernández Serralvo, who presented a detailed taxonomy of dark patterns, as well as contributions from professors Rosa Medina Sánchez and María Gil Drake, along with the Principal Investigator, Alberto Hidalgo Cerezo. The 9 sections comprising the public consultation were reviewed, encouraging students to form their own criteria and voice the thoughts of an entire digital generation.
This activity is part of the project’s participatory methodology, which seeks to demonstrate to students the positive implications of the European project and their identification with it, fostering their critical understanding of Union Law and their active role as future professionals and European citizens.
