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European Union

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European Union
Basic information
Founded 1993
Legal Structure Government
Industry
Also known as EU
Official website https://european-union.europa.eu/

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe.

Article 169 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enables the EU to use its ordinary legislative procedure to protect consumers "health, safety and economic interests" and promote rights to "information, education and to organise themselves in order to safeguard their interests".[1] All member states may grant higher protection, and a "high level of consumer protection" is regarded as a fundamental right.[2]

Consumer rights legislation

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Consumer protection

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Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network coordinates national consumer authorities work at EU level, regulated by Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation (EU) 2017/2394. At national level consumer rights investigations and enforcement are carried out by relevant CPC actors – CPC single liaison offices and CPC competent authorities.

Member states

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European Union directives are binding to all EU countries, European Economic Area countries implement consumer protection laws based on bilateral agreements with the EU.[citation needed]

European Union (EU) & European Economic Area (EEA) member states
EU Austria • Belgium • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czechia • Denmark • Estonia • Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hungary • Ireland • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Luxembourg • Malta • Netherlands • Poland • Portugal • Romania • Slovakia • Slovenia • Spain • Sweden
EEA Iceland • Liechtenstein • Norway

European Economic Area

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The non-EU members of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) have agreed to enact legislation similar to that passed in the EU in the areas of social policy, consumer protection, environment, company law and statistics. From the 23,000 EU laws currently in force, the EEA has incorporated around 5,000 (in force) meaning that EEA states are subject to roughly 21% of EU laws.

Incidents

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This is a list of the most important consumer-protection incidents concerning European Union. Full list of relevant pages can be found under European Union category.

Chat Control

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Main article: Chat Control

Chat Control is the informal name for two European Union measures that would have providers scan users' private messages for child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The name covers two separate instruments. Chat Control 1.0 is a temporary regulation, adopted in 2021, that lets messaging and email providers scan unencrypted communications on a voluntary basis.[3] Chat Control 2.0 is a proposed permanent regulation that would make detection of abuse material mandatory for messaging and email providers.[4]

The Electronic Frontier Foundation and other digital rights groups say that, applied to end-to-end encryption (E2EE) services, it could be enforced only by client-side scanning, inspecting messages on the user's own device before they are encrypted, and that this breaks the encryption.[5] On July 9, 2026, the European Parliament allowed Chat Control 1.0 to stay in force until April 3, 2028; Chat Control 2.0 remained unresolved.[6][7]

Stop Destroying Videogames (ECI)

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section excerpt Stop Killing Games § European Citizens' Initiative.[edit]

On 19 June 2024, "Stop Destroying Videogames" was registered as a European Citizens' Initiative by Daniel Ondruska.[8] A month and a half later, on 31 July 2024, the initiative began collecting signatures.

The collection of signatures ended 1 August 2025, with a total of 1,448,270 and 24 out of 27 state members crossing the minimum thresholds. In the following three months, the signatures were to be verified and validated by all state members. In an announcement from the initiative campaigners on 24 January 2026, the final count of verified signatures was 1,294,188.[9]

On 16 April 2026, members of the Stop Killing Games movement had a public hearing with the European Parliament Commission.[10]

On 19 May 2026 the European Economic and Social Committee had a debate about the Stop Destroying Videogames ECI to which Stop Killing Games had been invited to participate.[11][12]

Following up the European Parliament public hearing from April, on 21 May 2026 the initiative was discussed in the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg with participation of the European Commission.[13][14]

On 2 June 2026, Stop Killing Games released a public statement regarding the European Commission's upcoming response and the invitation-only hearing with Video Games Europe and EGDF happening on 3 June 2026, highlighting concerns regarding the lack of solutions coming from the Commission and the echoing of the lobbying statements from the industry that misrepresent the initiative.[15]

  • Stop Killing Games - Open Letter
  • Official .pdf version
    Official .pdf version

On 9 June 2026 the Parliament has shown a clear commitment to act and willingness to work on solutions, a cross-party group of MEPs has issued a call for legislation in a letter to the European Commission.[16]

  • Stop Killing Games - MEPs call for legislation
  • .pdf version
    .pdf version

On 16 June 2026 the European Commission released their official response[17][18] on the Stop Destroying Videogames ECI deciding to not move forward with a new legislative proposal. The Stop Killing Games movement has Parliament support from every side of the political spectrum, regardless of the support from the Commission, and in the follow-up press conference[19] by Stop Killing Games it has been stated that the Stop Destroying Videogames movement will be amended to the Digital Fairness Act.

  • European Commission communication
    European Commission communication

The movement will continue the pushback against the industry in various ways through the Protect Our Games Act, own-initiative report by the European Parliament, adoption of the POG Act as legislation suitable for the European Union, determine which existing legislation proposals should be targeted and continued work in other legal jurisdictions such the UK.[20]

Advanced Driver Distraction Warning mandate (2026)

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Main article: Advanced Driver Distraction Warning mandate

Since July 7, 2026, every new car registered in the European Union must carry an Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) system that monitors the driver's gaze,[21][22][23] a requirement manufacturers meet in practice with an infrared camera aimed at the driver's face.[24][25] A warning triggers when the driver looks away from the road for more than 3.5 seconds above 50 km/h, or for 6 seconds at lower speeds.[24][26] Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 requires the data to stay within a closed-loop system, barred from third parties & immediately deleted after processing,[21] but Gadget Review & All About Cookies each reported that no independent audit mechanism verifies that automakers comply.[24][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ TFEU art 169
  2. ↑ TFEU art 169(3) and the CFREU art 38
  3. ↑ "Regulation (EU) 2021/1232 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 July 2021 on a temporary derogation from certain provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC". EUR-Lex. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse, COM(2022) 209 final". EUR-Lex. May 11, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  5. ↑ "After Years of Controversy, the EU's Chat Control Nears Its Final Hurdle: What to Know". Electronic Frontier Foundation. December 3, 2025. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Combating child sexual abuse: support for a more limited ePrivacy derogation". European Parliament. July 9, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Chat Control 1.0 passed the European Parliament through the back door". Euronews. July 10, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  8. ↑ Ondruska, Daniel (19 Jun 2024). "Stop Destroying Videogames". European Citizens' Initiative. Archived from the original on 19 Jun 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  9. ↑ Mr_Presidentle (24 Jan 2026). "Stop Killing Games: Final Count of Verified Signatures of the European Citizens Initiative". Reddit. Archived from the original on 26 Jan 2026. Retrieved 25 Jan 2026.
  10. ↑ European Parliament (16 Apr 2026). "Stop destroying video games". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  11. ↑ Stop Killing Games (19 May 2026). "EESC debate about Stop Destroying Videogames ECI (Original audio)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  12. ↑ Stop Killing Games (19 May 2026). "EESC debate about Stop Destroying Videogames ECI (English audio)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 Aug 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  13. ↑ Stop Killing Games (21 May 2026). "Stop Destroying Videogames ECI : European Parliament plenary session (Original audio)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  14. ↑ Stop Killing Games (21 May 2026). "Stop Destroying Videogames ECI : European Parliament plenary session (English audio)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  15. ↑ Spagelo (2 Jun 2026). "SKG - Letter to the community..." Reddit. Archived from the original on 2 Jun 2026. Retrieved 2 Jun 2026.
  16. ↑ Stop Killing Games (9 Jun 2026). ""It's Game Over for This Abusive Practice"-Parliament Backs Stop Killing Games". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2026-06-10.
  17. ↑ European Commission (16 Jun 2026). "Commission will engage with industry following European Citizens' Initiative on the disabling of videogames by publishers". Europa. Archived from the original on 2026-06-17.
  18. ↑ European Commission (16 Jun 2026). "COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION on the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) 'Stop Destroying Videogames'" (PDF). Europa. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2026-06-16.
  19. ↑ Stop Killing Games (16 Jun 2026). "Stop Killing Games: Press Conference (after the EC answer to our ECI)". YouTube.
  20. ↑ Stop Killing Games (16 Jun 2026). "The fight goes on". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2026-06-17.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 "Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users". EUR-Lex. 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  22. ↑ "Safer cars, safer roads: New rules take effect". European Commission. 2026-07-08. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  23. ↑ "Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2590 of 13 July 2023 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down detailed rules concerning the specific test procedures and technical requirements for the type-approval of certain motor vehicles with regard to their advanced driver distraction warning systems and amending that Regulation". EUR-Lex. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Alex Barrientos (2026-07-08). "All New EU Cars Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face. Where That Data Goes Is Still Anyone's Guess". Gadget Review. Archived from the original on 2026-07-09. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  25. ↑ "New EU ADDW safety system becomes mandatory from July 2026". AutoNext. 2026-05-23. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face. It's Still Not Clear Where That Data Goes". All About Cookies. 2026-07-08. Archived from the original on 2026-07-07. Retrieved 2026-07-09.
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