Advertising Industry Calls on the European Commission: Recognise Existing Digital Rules Ahead of the Digital Fairness Act

BRUSSELS, Belgium, 14th June 2025 – IAB Europe, together with a broad coalition of advertising industry associations, has called on the European Commission to recognise that the existing legal framework governing digital advertising already addresses the consumer protection concerns underpinning the upcoming Digital Fairness Act (DFA).

In a joint letter to Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen and Commissioner Michael McGrath, IAB Europe and National Federations, including Alliance Digitale, BVDW, IAB Ireland, IAB Portugal, IAB Poland, IAB Slovakia, IAB Spain, IAB Sweden and, and National Advertisers’ Associations, including the Portuguese APAN and the German OWM, welcomed the Commission’s commitment to strengthening consumer protection. However, they raised serious concerns that the DFA process appears to be extending into areas already comprehensively covered by the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD), Digital Services Act (DSA), and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The letter warns that layering new rules on top of existing frameworks would confuse companies, regulators, and consumers alike - undermining legal clarity, increasing compliance burdens, and contradicting the EU’s objective of simplification.

The signatories emphasised that digital advertising is already one of the most heavily regulated sectors in the EU. Many of the topics reportedly under consideration for the DFA, including personalised advertising, consent requirements, dark patterns, and influencer marketing, are already subject to robust regulation under the GDPR, ePrivacy Directive, DSA, UCPD, and AI Act, as well as sector-specific rules at both EU and national levels.

Before introducing any new measures, IAB Europe and its co-signatories urge the Commission to:

• Prioritise enforcement of existing rules and support companies in achieving compliance;
• Evaluate the impact of recently adopted legislation, particularly the DSA;
• Assess the legal framework to determine whether any genuine regulatory gaps remain;
• Limit consultations or impact assessments strictly to areas not already regulated.

The industry remains committed to constructive engagement to address any proven gaps. However, there is a need to first provide clear evidence that additional regulation is necessary, rather than duplicating the EU’s already extensive digital rulebook.

The full text of the letter can be found here. For further information, please contact Ines Talavera, Public Policy Manager, IAB Europe - talavera [at] iabeurope.eu, or Lauren Wakefield, IAB Europe - wakefield [at] iabeurope.eu.