Consumers Archives - Dialogues on European Digital Transition

EADT leads proposal for a state pact to protect minors from risks on the Internet and social networks

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom June 26, 2023June 26, 2023Childhood, Consumers, Data Protection, Privacy

Six civil society entities – the European Association for Digital Transition (EADT), promoter of the initiative, joined by Save the Children, the ANAR Foundation, iCMedia, Dale Una Vuelta and UNICEF – with institutional support from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) have presented a proposal for a state pact to protect minors on the Internet and social networks. The initiative forms part of the start of Spain’s presidency of the European Union and before the upcoming general elections on July 23^rd, which will result in a new legislature.

The EADT launches the campaign ‘A un clic de ayudarles’ (‘Just a click away from helping them’) to raise awareness about the risks children and adolescents face online

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom May 24, 2023May 24, 2023Childhood, Consumers, Data Protection, Privacy, Spanish Agency for Data Protection

Today the European Association for Digital Transition is launching the campaign ‘A un click de ayudarles‘ (‘Just a click away from helping them’) in collaboration with the Atresmedia Foundation, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) and the ANAR Foundation (helping children and teenagers at risk). The aim of this initiative is to encourage parents to take a more active role in the online activity of minors, alerting them to its risks – such as cyberbullying, isolation or self-esteem problems – and also to the characteristics of certain business models on the platforms and social networks, which are based on profiling the minor’s data for Its subsequent commercialisation via advertising.

Consumer rights in the digital age: the mistake of letting your guard down

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom March 23, 2022March 23, 2022Consumers, Digital rights, Interviews

Consumer policies don’t usually get much attention from the media or in political debates, yet they affect realities that are the backbone of daily life for most citizens. From the moment we get up to the time we go to bed, we establish consumer relations, sometimes almost unconsciously, in which we have a series of rights.

Internet and minors: Europe must react

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom December 10, 2021December 15, 2021Childhood, Consumers, Digital rights

In the digital economy we are all, several times a day, a product. Because if the product is free, the product is us. We’re all more or less aware of this reality, which years ago went unnoticed. But we are still acting as if we were blindfolded. An Internet search engine, our favourite social network, the blue dot we follow on the map when we visit another city… we think everything is free, but it isn’t. Paying with data is paying, and with our data large technology platforms, from the United States or China, are building empires that now border on monopolies.

The dangers of big tech’s entry in the financial sector

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future December 9, 2021December 9, 2021Asufin, Consumers, Facebook, fintech

Could the big tech companies launch an assault on the financial sector? For several years now, there have been clear indications that the group known as the GAFAs are interested in this business, but they still haven’t gone after it.

Apple, privacy, and control of data

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom August 4, 2021August 4, 2021Apple, Consumers, Data Protection, Google, Privacy

Without the free rein they had a few years ago in terms of control over data, the big tech companies have long been working on the concept of ‘privacy’, which has also become a marketing tool. Apple has taken this dispute very seriously, and in early June introduced a new concept on privacy for the clients of its cloud service, iCloud. It’s called Private Relay.

Citizen participation and the future of the EU: An opportunity at the Conference on the Future of Europe

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality July 20, 2021July 20, 2021Conference on the Future of Europe, Consumers, Digital rights, Digital transformation, health

Two current phenomena – the cyclical change the EU has entered following Brexit and the outbreak of COVID-19 and the need to improve the participatory mechanisms in liberal democracies – largely explain the launch, at the end of 2020, of the Conference on the future of Europe. We can define this as a large forum which, over more than a year, gives European citizens a channel to express their positions and recommendations on major issues that are already marking the future of the Union and of the entire planet. This is a good opportunity, therefore, for citizen’s to participate in EU debates, which are often accused of being removed from societal realities.

Europe and protection of the digital consumer: A challenge halfway met

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom May 4, 2021June 9, 2021Consumers, Didier Reynders, Digital rights, European Commission, Spain

The standard profile of the European consumer is increasingly digital. This transformation process, which began years ago, has accelerated dramatically with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is precisely in the last year that transformation of the legislative framework that protects the European consumer has sped up. Last November, the European Commission published the New Consumer Agenda, a document defining key actions that need to be taken in this area, both at European and state level, over the next five years.

The ‘shadow value of personal data’: What value does something apparently “free” have for the consumer?

European Association for Digital Transition Economic future March 17, 2021June 9, 2021Consumers, Digital Services Act, Facebook, Google

Various events are being held this week to celebrate World Consumer Rights Day, a day in which civil society and regulators defend the rights of citizens-consumers. This year, the date takes on a special relevance. This is because it is being held in the midst of major discussions within the European institutions that are designing one of the most important regulatory frameworks for the coming years, that is, the ‘Digital Acts’ regulatory package: DSA, DMA, and DGA.

World Consumer Rights Day: Do big tech companies respect yours?

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom March 15, 2021June 9, 2021Apple, Consumers, Data Protection, Digital rights, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Privacy

March 15 marks World Consumer Rights Day, a commemoration established by the United Nations in 1983. The choice of March 15 comes from a speech delivered on that day in 1962 by John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Speaking at the United States Congress, the then U.S. president defined the consumer as an essential element in the production process, recognising their political relevance and urging institutions to protect their rights.