The EU has recently made an electronic withdrawal button mandatory for all traders that sell products, offer services, or provide digital content to consumers in the EU (yes, that means regardless of where that merchant is from!). The premise is simple and straightforward: canceling an agreement should be as easy as making it. This stems from the official Directive (EU) 2023/2673.
This is not the first time we have heard of this withdrawal right (Consumers’ right to retract from purchases has existed as a fourteen-day period for years), but this new regulation has changed how that withdrawal right is presented and exercised. The new button must be clearly visible, easy to find, and remain available for consumers to use it under a “two-step” process: first, the user should indicate they want to withdraw from the agreement, providing the relevant information, and second, the user should confirm and consent in a clear step after the previous one. Should the consumer do that, the trader is obliged to acknowledge this withdrawal right in some manner expeditiously.
It should be noted that the click on the withdrawal button is in practice a formal legal request to back down, so it should not be treated as another link you can have on your webpage (like you would have for the Privacy policy etc.) but rather as an “entry point” to the whole post-purchase experience.
This new regulation does not apply to all goods and services, though, and one interesting and relevant exception to this withdrawal right is:
- online digital content, such as a song or movie, that you started downloading or streaming after you expressly agreed to lose your right of withdrawal by starting the performance.
So, it is a good idea to inform our users about this!
The risks for infringing this regulation are significant and should not be taken lightly. The penalties include:
- Fines that in some member states can run up to 4% of annual turnover.
- An extension of the cooling-off period from fourteen days to a maximum of twelve months and fourteen days; customers can then still withdraw up to well over a year after purchase.
- Consumer backlash for not having this right.
The EU has an excellent summary of the consumer’s rights and the right of withdrawal that you can check.
What does it mean for you? If you are selling your game or any other kind of products, like merchandise, directly to consumers (e.g., through your own personal website), you need to update your webpage, etc. to comply with this new EU Directive. If you want our assistance, do not hesitate to contact us so we can assist you with how to implement this new mandatory button and what the legal requirements are.
If you are letting your publisher, virtual platform, or game store take care of anything related to end users, then you do not need to worry. This applies to online retailers who conclude distance agreements with consumers and are affected if the agreement is concluded via an online user interface. Nevertheless, this is a new implementation, and maybe some revisions to EULAs and Terms of Use should be made to accommodate consumer laws and regulations in order to protect end users. Don’t worry—we’ll keep an open eye out for you.