sec_3_4__para__10 — COMMISSION NOTICE – Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive…

sec_3_4para10

COMMISSION NOTICE – Guidance on the interpretation and application of Directive 2005/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market · European Union

Products presented as ‘free’ are especially common in the online sector. However, many such services collect personal data of users such as their identity and email address. Importantly, the UCPD covers all commercial practices concerning ‘free’ products and does not require payment with money as a condition for its application. Data-driven practices involve an interplay between EU data protection legislation and the UCPD. There is an increasing awareness of the economic value of information related to consumers’ preferences, personal data and other user-generated content. The marketing of such products as ‘free’ without adequately explaining to consumers how their preferences, personal data and user-generated content are going to be used could be considered a misleading practice in addition to possible breaches of data protection legislation.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.