EU DSA Article 25 - Online interface design and organisation
Prohibit deceptive or manipulative design patterns (dark patterns) that impair users' ability to make free and informed decisions
Where this comes from
Provision: Article 25 - Online interface design and organisation
Instrument: EU Digital Services Act (Regulation 2022/2065)
Citation: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Article 25
Text version: Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 (Digital Services Act), OJ L 277, 27.10.2022, as adopted (CELEX 32022R2065); no consolidated text exists on Cellar, consistent with the Regulation being unamended; text retrieved 2026-09-21.
Who it applies to
It applies when all of these are true:
- Service is an online platform
- Service has users in the European Union
- Users can create public profiles
…unless:
- Section 3 (Articles 20-28), with the exception of Article 24(3), does not apply to providers of online platforms that qualify as micro or small enterprises under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, nor, for the 12 months after losing that status, to providers that... (DSA Article 19(1)-(2) - Exclusion for micro and small enterprises (Section 3))
- The prohibition in Article 25(1) does not apply to practices covered by Directive 2005/29/EC (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive) or Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR). (DSA Article 25(2))
What engineering work it implies
Sample acceptance criteria Landfall generates for this obligation:
- Prohibited action is technically blocked
- Users cannot bypass the restriction
- Clear messaging explains why action is blocked
- Attempts are logged for compliance monitoring
- Test that prohibited action fails gracefully
Questions people ask
- Does EU DSA Article 25 - Online interface design and organisation apply to my service?
- It applies when Service is an online platform; Service has users in the European Union; Users can create public profiles. It does not apply where Section 3 (Articles 20-28), with the exception of Article 24(3), does not apply to providers of online platforms that qualify as micro or small enterprises under Recommendation 2003/361/EC, nor, for the 12 months after losing that status, to providers that... (DSA Article 19(1)-(2) - Exclusion for micro and small enterprises (Section 3)).
- From when does this apply?
- EU DSA Article 25 - Online interface design and organisation applies from 17 February 2024. Its current status is: in force.
Find out whether this one lands on you
Landfall's pre-scan answers the applicability question above for your product in minutes, then turns every obligation that applies into traceable engineering tickets with a citation chain your auditors can follow.
Not legal advice. Landfall maps regulatory obligations to engineering work for planning purposes. Its verdicts are not legal advice and create no attorney-client relationship — verify with qualified counsel before relying on them.