EU Directive 2023/2673 – legal obligations for digital businesses in 2026

Digital businesses operating within the European Union face an increasingly complex regulatory landscape. EU Directive 2023/2673 forms part of the broader digital regulatory framework designed to strengthen consumer protection, platform accountability, transparency, and legal certainty in online markets. For companies operating websites, e-commerce stores, online platforms, or digital services – especially those targeting EU users – compliance is no longer optional. It is a structural requirement.

This article explains what Directive 2023/2673 means in practice, who it applies to, what legal and technical obligations arise from it, how it interacts with other EU digital regulations, and what steps businesses – particularly those running WordPress or WooCommerce platforms – should take to ensure compliance.

The information below is based on publicly available EU legislative materials and related regulatory guidance. For implementation, legal consultation is recommended.

Regulatory Context – Where Directive 2023/2673 Fits

Directive 2023/2673 does not operate in isolation. It complements and reinforces the EU’s broader digital regulatory architecture, including:

• Digital Services Act
• Digital Markets Act
• General Data Protection Regulation

Together, these instruments aim to create a safer digital environment, increase transparency of online operations, strengthen consumer rights, and impose clearer accountability on digital intermediaries. Directive 2023/2673 reinforces these objectives by addressing transparency obligations, unfair digital practices, consumer information duties, content moderation responsibilities, and digital accessibility standards.

Who Is Affected by Directive 2023/2673?

The Directive applies to digital service providers operating in the EU or targeting EU consumers. This includes:

• E-commerce businesses selling goods or services online
• Online marketplaces and multi-vendor platforms
• Subscription-based SaaS services
• Content platforms with user-generated content
• Businesses established outside the EU that target EU consumers

If your company offers digital services, processes user data in connection with those services, allows user accounts, enables digital transactions, or markets to EU residents, you are likely subject to these obligations. The key factor is not only physical establishment in the EU but whether the business directs its activities toward EU users.

Core Legal Obligations Under Directive 2023/2673

Transparency and Clear Information Requirements

Businesses must provide clear, accessible, and accurate information to users. This includes identification of the service provider, contractual terms, pricing structures, and decision-making mechanisms that materially affect users. Websites must clearly display company identification details such as legal name, registration number where applicable, registered address, and contact information. Terms and conditions must be written in plain and understandable language. Hidden fees, misleading pricing structures, or unclear subscription renewals are high-risk areas.

Transparency also extends to algorithmic decision-making where relevant. If automated systems influence product rankings, visibility, or user recommendations in ways that materially affect consumers, disclosure obligations may apply. From a technical perspective, this means that legal pages must be easily accessible, not buried behind complex navigation, and must be consistent with actual business practices.

Prohibition of Manipulative Design Practices – Dark Patterns

Directive 2023/2673 reinforces EU enforcement efforts against so-called dark patterns. These are interface designs that manipulate users into decisions they might not otherwise take.

Examples include subscription cancellation flows that are significantly more complex than sign-up flows, pre-selected consent checkboxes, misleading color contrasts that push users toward acceptance, or intentionally confusing wording around pricing or renewals. User interface design is now a compliance issue. UX teams and developers must ensure that:

• Consent is freely given and reversible
• Cancellation processes are simple and symmetrical
• Essential information is not obscured
• Default settings do not manipulate user choices

This has direct implications for checkout flows, newsletter opt-ins, cookie banners, subscription management dashboards, and account deletion mechanisms.

Strengthened Consumer Rights in Digital Contracts

Consumers must receive clear pre-contractual information before concluding a digital transaction. This includes pricing, duration of contracts, renewal conditions, withdrawal rights, and complaint procedures. For e-commerce stores, this affects the checkout page, order summary page, and confirmation emails. The user must clearly understand what they are purchasing, under what conditions, and how they may exercise their rights. Any auto-renewing digital subscription must clearly communicate renewal timing and provide easy opt-out mechanisms.

Content Moderation and Platform Responsibility

Where businesses operate platforms that allow user-generated content, Directive 2023/2673 reinforces procedural safeguards similar to those introduced by the Digital Services Act. Platforms must implement notice-and-action mechanisms allowing users to report illegal content. Reports must be processed in a timely manner. Decisions to remove or restrict content must be documented. Users must be informed of moderation decisions and provided with a possibility to contest them. This requires internal documentation procedures, logging systems, and defined moderation workflows. Even smaller platforms cannot rely on informal moderation practices anymore. Structured governance is expected.

Digital Accessibility – WCAG Compliance

Digital accessibility is becoming an increasingly enforced area within EU regulation. Businesses must ensure that websites are usable by persons with disabilities in line with established accessibility standards, commonly aligned with WCAG guidelines. This includes:

• Proper semantic HTML structure
• Logical heading hierarchy
• Adequate color contrast
• Keyboard navigability
• Accessible form labels
• Alternative text for images
• Screen-reader compatibility

Accessibility is no longer limited to public sector websites. Commercial digital services are increasingly subject to enforcement. For WordPress-based businesses, this means themes, plugins, custom blocks, and page builders must be reviewed for accessibility compliance.

Interaction With Data Protection – GDPR Alignment

Directive 2023/2673 does not replace GDPR but operates alongside it. Transparency obligations often overlap with data protection duties. Privacy policies must accurately reflect actual data processing practices. Consent mechanisms must comply with GDPR requirements for validity, granularity, and withdrawal. Cookie management systems must avoid deceptive designs. Pre-ticked boxes or forced consent mechanisms expose businesses to enforcement risk.

From a technical standpoint, businesses should ensure:

• Cookie banners are compliant
• Consent logs are stored securely
• Tracking scripts load conditionally
• Data processing documentation is maintained

SEO and AI Visibility Implications

Compliance is not only a legal safeguard but also a competitive advantage. Search engines increasingly prioritize trust, transparency, and user experience. Clear company identification, structured legal pages, accessible design, and ethical UX practices strengthen E-E-A-T signals. AI-driven answer engines and large language models rely on structured, authoritative, and transparent content. Websites that provide well-organized legal disclosures and consistent information are more likely to be considered reliable sources. Therefore, regulatory compliance supports both traditional SEO and AI-driven discoverability.

Risk of Non-Compliance

Depending on national implementation and enforcement mechanisms, non-compliance may result in:

• Administrative fines
• Orders to modify website functionality
• Temporary suspension of digital services
• Reputational damage
• Increased regulatory scrutiny

Authorities across the EU have demonstrated increasing willingness to investigate digital businesses, particularly in the areas of misleading UX design, subscription traps, and inadequate consumer disclosures. The financial and reputational consequences of enforcement actions can significantly exceed the cost of preventive compliance work.

Practical Steps to Achieve Compliance

The first step is a combined legal and technical audit. Businesses should assess their regulatory exposure based on service type, target audience, and digital functionality. Key review areas include checkout flows, subscription management processes, cancellation mechanisms, consent forms, privacy documentation, content moderation workflows, and accessibility standards. The second step is structured remediation. This may require redesigning user interfaces, restructuring information architecture, updating legal documentation, implementing logging systems, and improving accessibility. The third step is ongoing governance. Digital regulation evolves rapidly. Regular reviews, documentation updates, and technical maintenance are essential. Compliance is not a one-time project. It is a continuous process.

How a WordPress Agency Can Support Compliance

WordPress and WooCommerce power a significant portion of EU digital businesses. However, out-of-the-box installations rarely meet advanced regulatory requirements without customization. A specialized WordPress agency can support compliance by conducting a technical compliance audit covering UX design, accessibility, plugin ecosystem, checkout architecture, consent management, and performance configuration. Developers can refactor HTML structure to improve accessibility, implement structured data, optimize checkout transparency, redesign subscription management systems, and ensure plugin compatibility with regulatory requirements.

Security and maintenance processes can be strengthened through controlled update workflows, version management, and performance monitoring. For platforms with dynamic content or user-generated content, developers can implement logging mechanisms, moderation dashboards, and structured reporting tools. In addition, technical architecture can be aligned with performance best practices to support transparency and SEO improvements simultaneously.

Conclusion

EU Directive 2023/2673 reflects the broader transformation of digital regulation in Europe. The era of loosely structured digital operations is over. Transparency, accountability, accessibility, and fairness are now enforceable obligations. For digital businesses operating in the EU – whether e-commerce stores, SaaS platforms, marketplaces, or content services – compliance requires coordinated legal, technical, and design adjustments. The most effective approach is proactive. Instead of waiting for enforcement, businesses should treat compliance as a strategic investment in trust, brand strength, and digital resilience. If your business operates on WordPress or WooCommerce, now is the right time to assess your platform architecture, UX design, legal documentation, and accessibility standards. A structured compliance audit followed by targeted technical implementation not only reduces legal risk but also improves performance, usability, and long-term competitiveness in the European digital market.

Learn more: download the Full Accessibility Guide for E-commerce Leaders

This article only scratches the surface of how WCAG accessibility affects WordPress and WooCommerce at scale. If you want a deeper, practical understanding of how accessibility connects with architecture, performance, SEO, and long-term platform ownership, we’ve prepared a comprehensive guide for e-commerce decision-makers. You can download the full e-book, “Unlock Your Full Potential: An Accessibility Guide for E-commerce Leaders” and explore real-world insights, patterns, and strategic recommendations for building accessible, scalable e-commerce platforms on WordPress and WooCommerce. You can also schedule a free WCAG audit of your online store or website.